


Retribution

by starspawnedwarlock



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Gen, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2020-09-06 05:23:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20286106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starspawnedwarlock/pseuds/starspawnedwarlock
Summary: Equius Zahhak, cast down from his noble standing for elicit affairs with a heretical priestess, travels through the land with naught but his mount and blade in his quest to survive.





	1. A Decent Job

Equius coughed as he splashed water from the metal bowl into his face, rubbing his tired eyes and the stubble that grew on his lower face. Looking up to the scratched and dirtied mirror hanging from the old wooden wall, Equius bared his teeth, showing the chips and gaps. He ignored them as he raised the strip of linen, covered in sage and salt, against his teeth, and began rubbing. After a minute, he lowered the strip, checking his teeth. Satisfied with their whiteness, he returned it to his bag, before stepping away from the mirror.

Approaching his bed, Equius looked down to his raiments. They were far from their peak days, but they did the job. There was enough padding on the calf length overcoat to keep him warm on the colder nights of the year, and the metal shoulder pauldrons, gauntlets, backplate and boots dissuaded most ne'er-do-wells from getting in his way. He noticed the countless rips, cuts and burns across it, along with the deep slash along the crest, as he pulled the thick coat over his shoulders, fastening the straps across his front. He sat on the bed as he did on his boots, hearing the creaking of the ancient bed behind him. He made sure everything fit well in the mirror as he tightened his gauntlets.

Grunting as he stretched, Equius took one more look around the room he had stayed in. It was a far cry from the beddings he had enjoyed in the past. There was no four poster, no magnificent tapestries over stone castle walls, and no stained glass window that gave a view over the endless expanse of the land.  
Now he was in a moldy side room of a run-down in. He frowned as he threw his bag over his shoulder, and picked up his sword from where it lay against the wall. Holding the scabbard by its middle, he went out the door.

There was some light chatter amongst the morning patrons of the inn, most chatting about gossip or the weather. Trivial things. Equius nodded to the barkeep as he walked by, tossing over a silver.

"Thank you very much, noble sir!" The barkeep smiled, his laugh lines deepened.

Equius didn't respond, instead continuing towards the door. His hand was just around the metal door handle when he heard one of the patrons sneering behind him.

"Disgraced prick."

He tightened his grip on the handle and stopped.

"You heard me!" The patron spoke up. "You're nothing but a useless prick!"

Equius began to turn around, his breathing getting heavier. He found the patron half standing, looking at him with angered and most definitely drunk eyes. His drinking mate sat silent beside him, looking down.

"We're not going to have a problem, are we?" The barkeep asked from behind the counter over which he leaned.

The disgraced knight met the patrons gaze for a single moment. He snarled, grabbing the table with both hands, discarding the sword to the side, before flipping the heavy oak table completely. There was a crash and snapping of wooden floorboards as the table smashed against the floor. The two patrons clambered away in a panic, the offender stumbling over to where his wood-cutting axe law leaned against the wall.

With a pathetic scream he swung it wildly. Equius quickly stepped back, watching the blunt blade swinging in front of him. His hand snatched out, grabbing the handle, before wrenching it from the hands of the drunkard as he push him roughly back. The patron tripped back over the toppled bench as Equius took a hold of the axe with both hands, grunting as he snapped it in half, the handle splitting into splinters.

Growling, the knight turned away form the terrified patrons, broken wood and spilled ale, kicking open the door after retrieving his sword. The lower hinge snapped, leaving the door hanging haphazardly as he stomped out, grinding what remained of his teeth. He Heard the exasperated yells of the barkeep as the steps down to the street groaned beneath him.

Equius didn't stop for a breath as he walked down the dirt path through the town. He avoided the gazes of inquisitive peasants, making a brisk pace towards the hitching post at the gap in the low stone wall surrounding the gathering of houses. Still gritting his teeth, he nodded curtly to the caretaker he had paid to take care of his horse, before he unhitched the reins.

Without a word, he led the horse away, before lifting himself onto the saddle. With a grunt, he rolled his shoulders, before squeezing with his boots. The horse began forwards, trotting along the old road out of the town. Equius stared straight forwards, still grinding his teeth as he did so. He felt the hard stare of the barkeep on him as he passed the inn, the remaining door hinge creaking loudly under its stress.

The disgraced knight took a deep breath as he passed out the gates of the town, knowing that the strong gazes had turned away from him. He grasped the reins tightly as he lamented his regret, before he sighed. Another town, another unfortunate encounter. It was how it usually was. The quicker he forgot the better off he was.

Squeezing the horse's sides again, he sped up the trot. As much as he wanted there was little point in a canter, it would just tire his mount out. Leaning forward, he rubbed the side of his mount's neck.

"I'll find you a proper stable soon, Arthour." Equius checked the coin pouch hanging from his belt. He frowned. "We just need to finds a decent job first."


	2. One Week In Advance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius rides into town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can tell I love The Witcher

Equius rode on for most of the day, gently bobbing on the saddle as he passed through the endless countrysides of the Realm. He couldn't remember going down this way before, and wondered where he was on the map, not being familiar with this corner of the land, with it being so far from the hectacres he was presided over in his knighthood.

These regions were far brighter, their greenery likened more to an emerald than to the dark and washed-out hue of his homeland. Massive oaks, ashes and sycamores replacing the endless pine forests he had grown up exploring, shortsword on his small back. The winds did not hold the biting chill he had hardened himself against, sometimes even bringing warmer winds from the south.

The rain was different as well. Light showers, sometimes with the sun still shining, were what he was often met by. The locals sometimes talked of memorable thunderstorms where some forks of lightning had made themselves known, but they were rare enough that it was unlikely he would see them during his time in the region. Although he wouldn't mind if he did. The storms they described were trivial compared to those that he had lived and thrived through.

Cascading rain and hale, winds fit to knock down a bull, and thunder strikes plentiful enough to ignore their individuality. Those were the storms of his homeland. Mixed with the steep cliffs and unforgiving slopes, the storms were lethal, and many a travelling carriage had been shattered against the mountainside stones.

Equius had discovered a few of them, during his youth. As a child he would be shocked, exhilarated at his treasure find. He'd look through what was held within the carriage and find something he found interesting enough to keep, before running off back to the castle to show his father. Then he had found a half-dead survivor. He counted that as a maturing moment for sure.

As a young lad he openly searched for them, leading a band of his friends and stewards. They would scavenge whatever didn't break beyond use, and return it to the castle stockrooms, to be distributed amongst his father's serfs.

He spat out the leaves he had been idly chewing onto the road from atop his horse.

It was good work for a up and coming man. Lifting a heavy carriage with some other young lads in the harsh weather, mud on their knees and hands, and a couple of bruises and cuts for good measure. Did nothing but good he reckoned.

Equius leaned forward slightly as he coughed hard into his hand suddenly. Groaning, he leaned back. That was enough reminiscing for now. No point getting caught up in the past. He had the present to contend with.

Judging by the signs on his way out of the last town, he was only about two mile from his target. He reckoned he would be there within a quarter of an hour if he kept the speed.

He pulled out the folded scrap of paper from his coat pocket. Opening it up, he gazed on the two sets of writing. The first, a name and a list of services, written in barely legible, scraggly handwriting, the second being the exact same, but written in a far clearer and more understandable font. The barkeep has seen him struggling with his writer and had offered to help. Although the former-knight was rather proud, and would have preferred to do it himself, he was far too tired to object.

The name was off the next town. Elenvalley. A trading town built upon a river in a valley of its own making. Its place on one of the main trading routes of the kingdom made it quite busy, and profitable. From what the barkeep had said, it was quickly expanding, more and more rich, aristocratic investors moving in to secure their stakes. Knowing the machinations of the wealthy, Equius knew that while the money would help the town grow, someone was going to get the muddied end of the stick. It was usually how they operated.

The list of services was something he was also interested in. A few taverns and inns interested him, as well as a stable shop. There was apparently some crime in the area, as expected from a rapidly growing town. Some people got pushed down far enough that all they could do was nip at the heels of other. There was work to be had in them., as much as he hated to wet his blade with the blood of common criminals.

Glancing up to the sun, Equius guessed it was about 6 in the evening. He would have to find accommodation and a place for his horse rather quickly. That, coupled with making sure to stay out of the eye of any hot-heated newly-knighted boys common in towns such as this would be a bit of a hardship.

Sighing, Equius resigned himself to thoughts of a hot meal, cold drink and warm bed. Maybe there wouldn't be any overly brave drunks this time either. Unlikely, but a disgraced knight could dream.

It took him just over twenty minutes before the sight of the town greeted him as he came over the hill, followed by the smell. A lesser man would have wretched immediately. He forgot why he hated large towns so much. Shaking his head and drawing a piece of fabric up over his mouth and nose, he looked across the town before him. There was a great mass of small wooden shacks clustered around a tall defensible stone wall, manned by a noticeably small number of guards.

Nearer to the wall there seemed to be some more refined and planned buildings, not thrown together on the odd weekend. He wondered how long it would be until they put up another, wider perimeter wall.

He noticed the vast cloud of smoke hanging just above th town as he guided his horse down to a bridge over a small stream. There was a countless multitude of campfires and torches letting up smokes from the outer shacks, and he could only imagine the endless smoke of the chimneys within the wall. He doubt the sun would ever shine brightly within them.

He paid no heed to the scores of beggars, wastrels and vagrant children who littered the sides of the roads as he drew closer to the town. He slid his hand down to keep a tight hold of his coinpurse at his side as a swarm of children surrounded his horse, holding their hands out and asking for any spare coppers. The knight kept his gaze straight forward, ignoring their grasping hands and pleads.

Eventually, having found nothing of value hanging from the sides of his horse or low on his body, they sidled off. He was sure he was going to find a button or two missing later, but it didn't bother him. Less tempered knights would have lashed out at the children. It would be cruel, but also presenting them with an opportunity born of distraction. But Equius had enough experience with the poor to know how to act.

He scratched at his stubble as he passed by another crowd of vagrants, sitting on a number of rickety benches in a circle. There was some idle chatter, punctuated by coughing and the tightening of ragged and muddied cloaks around frail and sick shoulders. There were a few who drank from cups filled with brown-tinted water.

It was normal for outer towns. It got worse at night, however. That's when only the light of campfires and occasional torches revealed the happenings. Things got far more dangerous then. The Zahhak knew there was a chance that he would be sent out here to deal with some undesirables at some point, although only if they pestered those within the town, or someone with a decent coin to his name. Nobody cared if a monstrous excuse for a human slaughtered a few beggars.

Finally getting through the thin, muddy streets, he reached a gate in the wall. Two guards sat there, one on either side of the stone archway into the city. Long pikes were held in their hands, ready to pierce through anyone they considered a threat, or any poor person close enough to them when they got bored.

"Halt!" One called out, stepping forward with a steel boot.

Equius pulled back the reins slightly, stopping his mount. "Guardsman." He addressed him politely.

"State your business here, disgraced one." He sneered. The disgraced among the knighthood weren't afforded much respect from authorities.

"I wish to stay the knight in this town, and take a contract or two." He stated.

"Is that so?" The guardsman chuckled, glancing over to his comrade. Equius knew that glance from his time training as squire. From the times before anyone knew his strength, before even he knew of it.

"Get down from your horse." His smirk flattened into a malicious stare.

"May I ask your reason?"

"Because I said so."

Equius tightened his grip slightly. "That hardly seems a fi-"

"Are you refusing an order from the town-watch?" The guardsman leaned forward, a sick smile coming to his face.

Gritting his teeth, Equius relented, swinging a leg over to land down on the ground. He gasped as the pole of the pike was swung into his legs, causing him to trip and fall facefirst into the mud.

"Oops, looks like you had a little accident there." He chuckled. "Get up."

Equius took a deep breath as he pushed himself to his feet. The guardsman laughed along with his comrade as they saw the muddied front of the knight, pointing at the dirtied coat. With a snarl Equius snatched out, grabbing the bracered wrist of the watchman, squeezing.

He looked up in surprise, before attempting to drive his pike forward. With a quick movement Equius reached out and grabbed the pike, tucking it under his armpit, before sliding his forearm underneath, and pull up. There was the sound of wood cracking as the shaft snapped.

The guardsman's eyes opened wide as he began to panic, before squinting with pain as Equius squeezed his wrist tighter. The metal, brazer creaked as it began to bend slightly inwards. He gasped out in pain repeatedly and tried to wrench himself away from the knight. With a yell, he punched with his other hand, but found it deftly caught, then twisted back sharply, just below the breaking point.

He looked to Equius with fear, before being released and pushed away. He fell onto the muddy ground with pained yelp, pulling his pained arms close to his chest. Without another word, Equius hoisted himself up on his horse, giving the other watchman a hard stare as he rode by.

He still felt the anger boiling through his body, read to make him lash out at anything that made itself known to him. Deep breaths could only do so much.

He rode through the dirty streets of the town a while, the cobbles almost sinking into the mud beneath as he stepped over them. The sides of the streets were littered with the dumpings of chamber pots, fire ashes and were infested with rats. There were hundreds of them throughout the town, living freely amongst the beggars who were slumped in the corners of some more secluded buildings, avoiding the eyes of the town watch, or paying them off in the extortative systems the guards held.

Equius avoided their pleading stares, continuing through the wide streets to reached the inner town. He didn't wish to take any side routes or short cuts, as the narrowness of the streets would eventually force him to dismount, which had a whole host of problems relating to it. He preferred to keep his vantage point, and finding an inn along a wide road would be useful if he needed to make a hasty escape.

He was a few minutes into his venture when something caught his interest. A number of men, wearing mostly ragged clothes, a handful not wearing shirts, gathered in front of a house. He say blackjacks and whips in their hands, and some hands hovered dangerously close to belted daggers. One was knocking on the door quite loudly with his club, glancing back to his companions as they laughed. He jeered and yelled inside. Equius pulled Arthour up to a stop.

He looked down to the beer-bellied man who was leaning against the gate a few feet in front of the house, who was tossing up a dagger and catching it with practiced skill.

"What's going on here?"

The man looked up to him, raising his eyebrows and smirking. "Little missy owes us some coin. Refused to pay up, so we're just giving her a nice call-in."

There was a loud crash as one of the thugs smashed in the windows with a thrown rock. "OPEN UP YA BLASTED WHORE!"

"See? All nice like." The dagger tosser smiled. "Now fuck off."

Equius moved along, quickly pushing the encounter to the back of his mind. Wasn't his business, and she had gotten herself into the situation. Plus, even if he did falter to some moral push, it would have been a terrible idea to bring his sword to bear against half a dozen men in the middle of a city he had no reputation in. Dangerous both in short term and long term.

He had his own survival to think about.

After a few more minutes, he spied a small inn the side of the street, its front splashed with a few spots of shit and piss, and a dead cat hanging just beside a sign that read "The Drunken Lion". It would do just fine.

There was a young stableboy sitting on a hitching post just outside, chewing on something. Equius dismounted just in front of him, exhaling as his boots sank deep into the noxious mud. He looked down at the boy as he tied the reins to the post.

"What's it cost to keep him groomed and fed?"

He spat whatever was in his mouth out at the ground beside him, before he brushed back the messy hair that was falling over a grimy face. Equius didn't look to see what it was.

"Cost ya about seven silver chum." The boy informed him, a big smile on his face.

"I'll give you four." Equius pulled out his purse and handed over four coins. The boy didn't protest, realising there was no point. He had to take what money he was given.

Not saying another word, the knight pat the side of Arthour's neck, before heading inside.

The inn was dimly lit, and had a musty air with a smell not far from the one outside. A small, unlit fireplace was across the room, some embers from what Equius would guess was the night before still burning. There were a few scattered tables, although very little room to actually move.

There were a few patrons, most gathered around one table, joking and laughing with each other, in much lighter and more innocent spirits than the men Equius had seen earlier, although the comments that floated over as he made his way through would still make a noblewoman pale.

An exceptionally tired looking man was drooping over the counter, absentmindedly scrawling with a piece of charcoal upon the old and battered wood. His head turned up slightly as Equius coughed into his hand.

"Would you like a room?"

Equius nodded. "Yes, very much so."

"Be ten silver a night, six if you stay for more than five days, although you gotta pay the week in advance then. There's hot food in the evenin's, and whatever is left over is yours in the mornin', and we clean your bed when you get up. Also my wife's got a sister who works in the brothel so our patrons get something of a discount if you want one sent up here." He said, his voice monotone, bored. "She is quite a nice lookin' lass herself, I should add."

Equius waved a hand. "I have no interest in such a thing, but I-"

"Your cock ain't work or something?" The man interrupted him, tossing his head over the other hand. "You know my buddy John's got some mighty good stuff for that if-" He stopped abruptly, seeing the look on Equius' face.

"I shall be paying one week in advance." He finished, coldly.

The innkeep nodded, seeming to move on from the awkward situation in a moment. "That would be, uh... four... fif... wait so six, twelve, nine- no, eighteen.. uh..."

"Three gold and three silver." Equius stated, not caring to wait for the man to finish the impossibly difficult equation he was faced with. He pulled out his purse and fished out what he had. He exhaled deeply. He only had two silver left. He hoped waiting the week would bring him some decent funds.

"Yeah... yeah that sounds about right." He straightened up a bit, so that his head was level with Equius' shoulder, and reached down his collar, pulling out three of cords, each one having a chain hanging from it. He looked through each one, until he found the one he deemed suitable. "'Tis room three; up the stairs, end of the hall on the right. Dinner is already cooked in the kitchen so if you want it warm get it soon."

"Thank you."

Equius began to walk away, heading up the narrow, rickety stairs. Each step creaked under his weight, he had to duck underneath two of the supporting beams. They looked close to falling apart under their immense rot, and Equius was sure if he had hit them on his way up a good half of them would have been taken off.

He passed by the first two doors, two missing its crudely fashioned iron number. There was simple coloured cloth hanging at regular intervals along the wall. He supposed they were meant as some meagre decoration.

He nearly groaned at the sight of door three, missing most of its handle. He brought the key to the locked and felt it rub against some rust as he forced it in, careful not to let the metal snap completely under an accidental excess of strength. He pushed at the door and found it not moving. He pushed a little harder, before he groaned.

Lining himself up with the door, Equius took a breath, before barging his shoulder against the wood. There was a crack, and the slight destruction of a handle mechanism, but the door swung open, hitting against the wall rather loudly. If there was anyone in the rooms adjacent he had most assuredly disturbed them.

Stepping inside, he made not of the confining space. There was a small desk, a stool, a dresser missing a leg, and a poor excuse for a bed, more likened to a cot than anything. With a sigh, he set down his bag onto the desk, before he sat down on the saggy mattress.

He pushed back a few loose strands of his hair, gone wavy from lack of proper grooming many years ago. He had always went through some ritual to keep his hair long and straight, although a long time in exile had let his hair style revert to its natural state unchallenged. He usually kept it tucked behind his ears, or tied back, if he was doing something in which the hair would be an annoyance. Such as eating.

Realising that his stomach was panging in pain from hunger, Equius reached into his pocket to pull out a length of fabric, and tie his hair back into a ponytail, messy but functional.

He headed back down to the main room of the inn, having to carefully pull the door shut and whip his hand out from the space in order to get it to close, before he locked it again with the key.

The stairs were as creaky as previously, if not worse, and he banged his head on the way down. He grunted as he wiped away the pieces of rotting woods that had fallen onto his hair and shoulders.

Stepping down into the main room, he gave a curt wave to the innkeep, he nodded, before turning back slightly and calling "Get another bowl of broth out!" in the direction of the door behind him.

Equius found a small, rickety seat, and watched as a rather small woman walked out from the kitchen with a bowl, steaming slightly. Equius presumed it to be the innkeep's wife. He thanked her, before tasting the broth. It was barely eatable, but Equius ate the entire bowl. It was a combination of being polite, and not having enough money to turn his nose up at a meal. He was sure the beggars had more coins that he did at this present moment.

After cleaning the bottom of the bowl, Equius looked around the shambling inn. The group of boys in the corner had grown slightly, and he could see they were now betting on arm wrestling contests. He raised an eyebrow, an idea coming to his mind.

He was six wins in, and eighteen silver richer by the time the innkeep finally had enough of the noise, and customers who had paid what they were willing to hours before, and bid most of his company out.

They really hadn't stood a chance against him, but he didn't bring his full force of the strength to bare. He made sure he won each one, but made a few close calls, and never beat anyone within five seconds of the match starting. He knew how to work with young un's who threw away their money at any game of physical strength they could. Or gambling. He had spent his youth around them.

Of course, he knew this wasn't anywhere near a stable job. The only stable paying feats of strength you could get was fighting in some backalley, and even with only a few silver to his name, he was worth far more than that.

Heading outside, he cringed at the smell of the street once more, before he turned to Arthour, who was standing quiet. The boy had done a mediocore job grooming him, better than he had expected, at least. He spent some time with the mount, brushing over the spots that had been missed, and giving him pats on the head.

"There's a good one, Arthour, just some time now, don't you worry about a thing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to write a chapter of this each day this week, and not fall off on Wednesday like I did with the vrisrezi pirate fic, like last week.  
Anyway I hope you enjoyed, the good shit kicks off next chapter with the introduction of you can fucking guess who come on it's Equius.


	3. Get On The Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius messes up his plans.

Equius groaned as he pulled himself up from the uncomfortable mattress, rubbing his hand over his face. It came away covered in gross, thick sweat. He took a few deep breaths, the nightmares from his sleep returning to his mind. Nightmares of men and stallions screaming as arrows and spurts of blood filled with air, smoke rolling over the muddy, gore stained landscape, making him cough as he rode through rank after rank of his enemies, swinging his blade down again and again, each time coming up covered in more blood and gore. Horns and drums were barely audible over clashing steel, snapping bone and cleaved flesh. 

He shook his head, pushing himself to his feet. He had been having that nightmare for years, longer than he had been in exile. It wasn't something new to him, he thought, as he bent down to wash away the grime from his wash in the small basin of water that had been brought into the room while he slept. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was with the innkeeps willingness to unlock the door on him. On one hand it was convenient this time, but then again, had he woken up in the middle of a nightmare, he would have caused some instinctual harm.

Running a hand through his hair, he grimaced. He hoped the bathhouses in this town weren't too expensive. He could do it outside in a basin, true, but when people say the scars of exile across his back it usually got him unwanted attention, especially if there were actual knights within the town. He stopped for a moment. Actual knights.

  
Full dressed, Equius made his way back down the stairs, being much more careful this time, not wanting to hit the beam again. The inn was deserted in the early hours, and the innkeep was fast asleep on the counter. Equius had to admit he wasn't overly fond of the man. It was the laziness mostly.

He raised an eyebrow as his wife stepped out, holding a ragged cloth with which she began to clean down the tables. She looked up to him.

"Breakfast?" She asked, her voice surprisingly kind.

"Yes, please."

"Alright, there isn't much left over but it should be enough to keep you going for a few hours." She made her way back behind the counter, into the kitchen beyond the door. 

Equius took a seat, pondering over his plans for the day. They mostly revolved around finding a suitable work. Perhaps a contract or two of taking down some thugs. The town certainly seemed to have a problem with them, and Equius wouldn't mind bringing down the ones he had met previously, if there was coin involved. After he had that done, he would head for the bathhouses, and then come back to the inn, where a bowl of broth would await him. It sounded a sound plan.

He smiled and thanked the innkeep's wife once again as she brought the bowl to him. She was right: it was a paltry amount compared to what had been there previously, and it did still taste the same, or maybe even worse. But he wasn't in a situation to complain, only a few steps from the street.

He stopped himself before his mind wandered to the luxuries of the past for the umpteenth time. He couldn't live in the past, it was painful and achieved nothing. 

He was picking small strings of the beef from his teeth when he was leaving the inn, moving to greet his steed once more. After a few quick head pats, and running his hand through Arthour's main, which was well groomed compared to the rest of the horse's body, he unhitched him, and moved to mount. He found that it usually made a better impression to ride up to the lawmakers abode on horseback, rather than walking up like mere peasantry.

Arthour was tired, having not gotten much sleep at all, and it was clear in the way he walked. Even such a proud horse could be reduced to a dreary wreck with lack of proper care. Equius felt a pang of deep shame and guilt. Arthour would have been much better off had he left him at his father's castle, well fed and groomed, held in the finest stables in the land. But he couldn't leave his mount behind. It was all he was permitted to have, under the code of honour his family held. A man's mount was more important to him than even a bride. To lose one was a great mourning, and to mistreat it was worthy of the deepest disrespect. 

And he was freely admitting to the fact that he would not have survived without Arthour, or at least no survived on any path of dignity. Without Arthour he would probably have ended his days as a farmhand, or a lumberer. He sneered at the thought. His muscles were strong, and he knew how to do hard work. But such a menial life was not for someone of his noble blood. Well, noble blood no longer, having been stained with exile.

He pat his mount's neck. He had a job to do, if not for himself, then for Arthour most assuredly.

The Lawmakers manor was a sight to behold, compared to the rest of the city. It was beautiful, with green beyond belief, and an array of colourful flowers beyond what he knew previously had even existed in the city. A number of guards were stationed around the front entrance of the manor, to the point where it was obvious the owner only wished to let everyone know he was worth more than any of them put together. Equius knew the sort.

Riding up to the gate, Equius held back a groan, seeing the guard previously stationed at the city gates. He was trying not to make the slight nursing of his arm so obvious, yet it was painfully visible to Equius and anyone else there that it was sprained. 

The former-knight didn't say a word as he rode on through, but gave a glare to the guard, making him stand up straighter and stare straight ahead. It was a preferable course of action, considering the pain he could get himself into if he was to bother Equius again.  
Dismounting, Equius nodded to another guard, trusting him with care of the horse. 

"What's your business here?" The guard asked, much more pleasantly that the last encounter with guardsmen he had. 

"I wish to speak with the lawmaker, enquire if there is any work to be done." Equius explained, rolling back his shoulders to make the sword sheathed over his back more obvious.

"You're lucky then, you arrived during his open hours." The guard chuckled, indicating him inside.

The halls were even more well decorated than the outside. He could have sworn he was amongst noble halls once more, not the manor of a lowly lawmaker of a wretched town. He guessed he knew were most of the taxes were going. 

He raised an eyebrow at the rather elaborate designs of the vases on antique tables as he passed them, ignoring the countless portraits of who he guessed was the lawmaker, some lined with bits of gold. He was acutely aware of the dirt he was tracking across the rich red carpet, as well. He didn't mind, however. In fact it quite good to tread across the ego of the smug smile in the portraits. 

He continued through the long hallway he had been greeted with, until he met the door at the end, conveniently labelled "Office" on a golden nameplate. She shook his head as he knocked.

"Come in."

With a deep breath, Equius opened the door and stepped in, finding himself in an elaborate and rich office. The amount of precious metals, gems, paintings, and ornaments was almost painful on the eyes. It was obvious this man was not used to wealth. He had no taste in how to spend it. 

The man looked up to him through silver rimmed spectacles perched on a slightly greasy nose. His thick brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, save for two strands that hung down either side of his head. Equius noted how, despite an attempt to conceal it with makeup, there was the slight scarring of a cleft lip. Two grey speckled mutton chop sideburns were on either side of his jaw.

"How can I help you, sir?"

There was no enquiry for a name, and no offer to sit at the chair facing him.

"I am here to offer my services and my blade to any problems you might have."

The lawmaker raised an eyebrow. He leaned back from where he had been hunched over a sheet of parchment, quill hard at work. 

"And what makes you think this town requires such violent and extreme services?" He was leaning his head back so that he could look down his nose at the former knight.

Equius couldn't help but look confused. "I'm not sure if you are aware, sir, but there appears to be a problem with extortion and thuggish loansha-"

"You are most definitely mistaken." He interrupted. Equius' eye twitched. "There are no such illegal activities here. If you are referring to the certain group of men who have been collecting money from certain residents they lent money to, then I assure you, their operations are not worthy of monitoring."

Equius was about to push further, before he realised. The absolute putrid show of wealth the manor was, and the efforts of grooming and makeup the lawmaker went through. He was vain, incredibly so. Wealth was all he had to show to the world. He was being payed off.

"Now, if you have nothing else to offer, I must ask you to leave. And, let me make this clear, you are not to trifle in the affairs of this town. Brickenden and his gang are not to be distributed in any of their affairs, or it will be your head on the block, understand?"

Equius nodded obediently, then turned and left. He gritted his teeth as he walked back through the disgustingly showy hallway, and left the manor, for what he hoped was forever. He had no service he was willing to offer such corruption and greed. He gave a curt nod to the guard as he mounted again, and set off into the town once more. 

He had no idea where he was going to get funds now. All he had were the few silver in his pocket. It wouldn't be long until he was forced into some undignified and disgusting form of moneymaking. Boxing matches seemed to be getting closer, as much as he dreaded it. 

Equius heard himself grunt in raw frustration, more than once, scaring away the people who wandered close enough to the horse to hear. He was getting exceptionally agitated. The reins were beginning to dig into his fingers from the extreme pressure he was squeezing them with. 

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. 

He heard distressed and angry roars and screams from a few meters to his left.

Glancing over, he realised he was just at one of the city gates. Just inside it was a group of men, huddled around a cage, laughing and throwing stuff at it, some poking whatever was inside with sticks. 

Intrigued, Equius rode closer, and he felt his heart begin to beat faster, recognising the men as Brickenden and his gang. The man who had been knocking on the door, Brickenden, presumably, was right up at the cage, doing the hardest poking inside, and laughing the hardest. The others were egging him on, giving him the confidence and reassurance the bully needed to continue whatever cruel act he ever did. He was pathetic.

Equius had to crane his neck to see whatever was inside, and his eyes went wide when he did. It was a person. A woman, huddled up. Her hair was wild, her teeth sharp, and she snarled every time a pole was thrust hard into her side or head, some drawing blood. 

"What do you think you are doing?" Equius boomed, his hands beginning to shake.

"Little whore thought it would be funny to steal from us on the road, and scratch up one of the boys. Little woodland nymph ain't she?" Brickenden grabbed onto the pole with both hands, before driving it as hard as he could into the woman's head. "Teach you to steal from us!" He burst into a fit of laughter with his boys, as Equius dismounted. 

"Ey! What do you think you're doing mister horseman, huh?" One of them yelled, as Equius pushed passed them. Brickenden turned, amused.

"Got ourselves a white knight, 'ave we?"

Equius paid him no heed, pushing him aside and reaching for the cage. With one great heave, he pulled the cage door from its hinges, the rusted metal snapping easily with the strength of his arm. The men cried out, some immediately bring up their weapons.

Brickenden was the first to act, bringing out a dagger and lunging immediately for Equius, sudden rage burning in his eyes. Equius didn't have time to bring up his arms to defend himself, but before the blade hit him, a blurry shape shot past, intercepting the arm, and dragging Brickenden down to the ground. Equius looked down to see the woman, her teeth clamped tight around Brickenden's wrist, blood pouring out with the viciousness of the bite. 

Given a chance to prepare, Equius reached up and pulled his sword from its sheathe. There was a graceful moment as the sword sang coming free, and then it was at the ready.

A particularly drunk thug charged Equius first, swinging a blackjack at him. He was caught immediately by a horizontal hew, the blade impacting at his neck, and the strength of the wielder carrying it completely through. 

There was a fountain of blood as the head toppled from the shoulders, and the others stepped away. Pure terror was painted across their faces, not knowing how to react to a man who could decapitate a bloke with a single swing. The woman was still chewing on the wrist as Brickenden cried out in pain, trying desperately to get her off by punching her hard in the head, which only seemed to make her chewing more vicious.

Equius relished in the clear moment of victory, before he heard the shouts of guardsmen rallying each other. He growled, before swinging his sword in a wide arc. The men stumbled backwards, some even ran away, but most importantly: they gave him space. As quick as he could, Equius reached down, ripping the woman from her feast of limb, and pulling her to Arthour. 

She struggled for a second, before realising that he meant her no harm. She quickly clambered up onto the horse, followed by Equius himself. Without hesitation, Equius drove his heels hard into Arthour's side. There was a sudden jolt as the horse began to speed forward, speeding into a gallop within seconds. Equius took complete control of the reins, trying to ignore the constant movement of the girl in between his arms.

He pulled the horse in what he remembered to by the quickest route out of town, not taking his eyes from the trail for a second. He could hear the yells of the guards behind him, although they faded after a few moments, as Arthour carried him quick away. 

He didn't stop to let his mount catch a breath until he had crossed the hill again, and was out of sight of the guardsmen. He took deep breaths himself, trying to remain calm, and chastising himself for his act of recklessness.

Now he could not return to get what he had left in the inn. He had wasted over three quarters of what he had on the room for the week. He gritted his teeth. His anger had betrayed him once again, as it always did.

The woman turned around to him, dexterously bringing her legs up around over the back of the horse. She looked up at his sweat covered face.

Equius could see rivulets of blood flowing down hers, which was covered in bruises, cuts and scars. She kept her mouth slightly open, and he could see the row of sharp teeth, now covered in blood. Dirty, bloody, matted hair hung over either side of her face. He could clearly see one of her hands was broken. 

But, despite all of that, she was smiling. 

"That was fun!"

"W-what?" Equius leaned back, not sure of what to make of the statement.

"Let's do it again!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes." 

Equius furrowed his brow at the sudden childish antics.

"No." He repeated more firmly.

"Yes."

"This isn't cute."

She giggled, bringing her good hand up to cover her mouth. It came away stained with blood.

"We should purrobably get going, mew know?" She suggested, quickly turning herself around.

Equius urged Arthour forwards, before realising something about what she had said.

"Wait, what was that?"

"We should get going...?"

"No, you said probably, but you said it quite weird, "you" too."

The girl burst out laughing. "Who knows? It's quite pawsible that I did." She spun back around.

Equius screwed up his face in agitation as the horse continued on.

"Good gods Athour, what have we gotten ourselves into?" He whispered, just barely a breath of his lips.

"Ooh who's Arthour?" She tilted her head backwards to look at him.

"It's... my horse."

She gasped. "That's adorapawl!" She looked to Arthour and gave him several pats. "Well hello Arthour! Aren't you beautiful?"

Equius raised an eyebrow. 

"And what's your name?" She asked him, still indulging the horse.

"Equius Zahhak." He answered. "What's is yours, if you have one?"

She sighed, long and theatrical. "Pawlease! I might look like a wild animal but I ain't one! I have a damn name. It's-" 

"Language." Equius interrupted.

"What?" She looked back to him, incredulous.

"If you are on my horse, do not utter a swear."

"Boo!" She frowned. "That's a dumb rule."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"Stop."

"No."

"Y..." He stopped and took a deep breath.

"Let's just ride in silence for a while."

"Fiiiiine."

The silence only lasted about five minutes.

"My name is Nepeta, by the way." 

"Good to know."

"Why did you save me?" He barely finished his sentence before she asked.

"It would have been quite cruel had I not." He answered, after a moment. 

"Hmm." She mused, looking behind her shoulder at him. 

She didn't say anything for a while, so the silence continued. 

Equius had no idea what to make of the girl in front of him. She seemed to completely ignore what most would have considered serious injuries, and was instead more interested in laughing and playing her weird games. 

She was an odd character, and he wasn't sure what to make of her. But he knew what was best.

As they pulled up to a small village, only an hour from the town, he stopped the horse.

"Alright, off."

She looked surprised. "What?"

"Off. We cannot travel together anymore."

"Why not?" She protested, refusing to get off the horse.

"The guards will be looking for two individuals on a horse. A tall man and a short woman. They might recognise us on our own, but together they will most assuredly recognise us."

"But I don't want to!"

"It's safer."

"It's more boring."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"N... Just get off the horse please."

"No."

Equius took a deep breath, before he reached forward. With one swift move, he lifted her from under the arms, and put her down beside the horse. She kicked and scratched the entire time, yelling.

"Stay."

"I'm not an animal!"

"I was fooled." He moved Arthour forward, and had a sigh of relief as he finally distanced himself from the incessant idiocy of the girl's ways.

The ride out was immeasurably more pleasant, as he gave Arthour a few pats, and enjoyed the freedom of movement he had without the small girl in front of him. He leaned back slightly, and rolled his head around, hearing a few cracks. 

He just had to put together a plan now, for the immediate future. He'd probably keep riding until he happened upon another village, then asking for directions to another large town nearby, where he could perhaps get some coin. He wasn't completely opposed to simple labour at this point, as a temporary solution.

He was only a few days ride from the gladitorial arena, if his memory was correct. Fighting with weapons was far more dignified than simple street fighting. He wouldn't mind spending some time there, even if just to sharpen up his skills, and not actually fight.

Although then again, from what he knew about the gladitorial business, a forsaken exile knight could be quite the popular competitor. A story of redemption? He smirked. He wouldn't mind being praised for once.

Letting go of the reins for a moment, Equius raised his arms up to stretch, groaning loudly, before he began to stretch his midsection, swiveling his torso. He turned his head around to look behind him, and stopped. His face fell.

He could see, just about twenty meters behind him, was Nepeta, trailing after him, skipping along. She was enamoured with a butterfly that was flying along side her.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Equius yelled.

"Mew said get off the horse but mew didn't say to not go with mew!"

"I... I..."

Equius put his hands up to his face and screamed into his palm, the thick gauntlet muffling it. He quickly straightened up.

"Get on the horse."

He looked down as Nepeta squealed, bounding over.

"Arthour... I am so sorry."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME NEP TIME  
THE EQUIUS KIN IN MY NEIGHS TRIUMPHANTLY FOR SHE IS HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE


	4. I Thought Horses Slept Standing Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius journeys with his new companion.

Equius was deeply regretting letting the woman onto his horse. 

He stared straight ahead as she told him of her seemingly endless list of interests and exploits. He had tried to drown her out but her voice was too piercing and high pitched to let that happen. He hadn't looked anywhere but straight ahead for several hours, as she purrattled on. Prattled on. Gods, it was contagious. He cringed.

"So then I found anothfur kitty and named him Pounce De Leon. He was really cool! Furreal! He was big and had purrfect white fur."

Gods. He was in hell. As if he hadn't been punished enough with exile.

He had already been informed about the cats she had in the first decade of her life, and was now being told about the second. From the silent count he was keeping in the back of his head, despite himself, he had in and around sixty-eight cats so far. He didn't even think he had seen that many before. 

And every single one of those cats had some pun as a name. The puns. They were excruciating. He wasn't sure he could handle much more of them. He had thought there was only so many puns that could be made relating to felines, but the girl sitting right in front of him had changed that. For how incredibly childish she was, her intuitiveness with punning words was something else. 

"I think Pounce was my last kitty..." She trailed off. 

Equius raised an eyebrow. Was he free? Was it finally over, after suffering so long?

"Oh I also love to do lots of matchmaking!" She squealed.

Goodness gracious. "I don't think I need to know about that particular hobby in any capaci-"

"When I was in my old village, when I was only a small growl-" Smaller than she already was. A harrowing thought. "-There was this reeeaaaallly cute couple! One was a lumbfurjack from across the rifurr, and the other was a girl who did a lot of basket weaving!"

"As fair a pair as any." Equius commented dryly, deciding he might as well go along.

"That what I thought!" She yelled out, throwing her arms wide. "But appurrently nobody else thought that! Claws mew see, they weren't actually a couple. But they had talked a few times, and I knew they were purrfect furr each other!"

"So what did you do?" He asked, monotone.

"I laid a master plan! It was genius, absolutely incredible. All I needed to do was maybe lock them in a storage clawset fur a while..."

"Ah."

"Turns out they didn't like that. The lumbfurjack especially." She lifted up her shirt, showing a long mark across the side of her ribs. "That's where I got this scar!"

Equius leaned forward to inspect it. It was a vicious thing, and looked like it had been life threatening. "Did he hit you with his axe?" He wasn't necessarily surprised.

"Yeah! Turns out he was already married... But still a bit of an ofurreaction." 

Equius chuckled. 

"If mew like scars I got plenty of them, give me a meowment." She reached down to the hem of her tunic and pulled the dirtied, ragged piece of stichted up fabric up over her head, and draping it over Arthour's neck.

Equius stared at the bare back of the girl he had rescued, impressed with the sheer amount of scars that covered seemingly every inch of skin. Her arms, too, were criss-crossed by lacerations, stabs and even some bites, some of which seemed almost human. She stretched, and the scars moved along with her muscles. He noticed that her physique was far from the frail limbs he had imagined under her tunic. Her arms were well toned, and her body spoke of the acrobatics she could easily perform.

She brought her hand over her shoulder, pointing to a scar, long and ghastly although quite faded, with a finger topped with a nail that wasn't far from being classified as a claw. It still had blood under it from the events of a few hours prior. 

"This one was furom a badger when I was sii... seevv... very young. It got me bad but I managed to kill it!"

"A six year old managed to kill a badger?" Equius wasn't convinced.

"Yeah! I had a rock." She giggled as she pointed to another scar, just under her armpit. "This one was from a bully with a piece of glass, along with these ones." She pointed to a few more scattered about her arms, and leaned back to point to the ones on her front, one over her collarbone, the other dangerously close to her liver.

"Did you beat him too?"

"No, he got me good. So I went back to his house latfur on and killed all his family's livestock and dumped the buckets of gore on him as he sleeped."

"Slept." Equius corrected instinctively, before looking down at her. "That was a rather... morbid thing to do."

"I was feline furry angry." She explained.

Equius nodded. He understood that well enough, he supposed. 

"Then there is this one!" She pressed a hand to her cheek, where, underneath the caked blood that she wiped and scraped away, Equius could see a round scar, one that looked almost like a-

"A brand! A shepherd caught me chasing his sheep and brought his fire iron."

"That's harsh. How old were you?"

"Ten." She answered, apparently not bothered at all by what Equius would consider a traumatic event.

"There is also this one!" She pointed to a horizontal slice across the bottom of her back. "A soldier meownt to hit me in the ass with the flat of his blade but fucked up!"

"Language!"

"Fuck!"

"Off the horse."

"FINE! I'll behave."

"Good."

She crossed her arms, in a huff. She didn't say another word for a few minutes, until Equius enquired.

"Is that all the scars you wish to talk off?" Although he was rather loathe to admit it, he was interested. Stories of conflict and toughening were pleasing to hear.

"Well... I also got this one."

The side of his mouth tugged up every so slightly as she went to explain more of her countless scars. There were stories of wild animals, drunken scoundrels, furious tradespeople, or falls from high places. Essentially, if one could get a scar from something, she had one from it. It was a mix of humourous and admirable.

One of the most impressive of them all was a pair of small lines on her front and back. "This was the time I was stabbed by a furry angry noble claws I told him he stank of pi-pee." She giggled. "It went in here-" She indicated to the back scar, which was just above her shoulder blade. "-And went out here!" She pointed to the front, just above her breast. 

"I would have died if his son hadn't taken pity on me." She explained, stretching once again, before picking back up her tunic and slipping it over her head, the scars and toned arms disappearing once again from sight. "He told me I was furry purretty and wanted to marry me!"

Equius highly doubted that, as cruel as it felt to think.

"I jumped out the window the meowment I could, although I did steal a mew hisses before I did."

Equius chuckled along with Nepeta's harsh, uneven laughter. 

"You have lived an eventful life for a peasant, you know?"

"I suppose I have." She turned back to smile up at him. "What about you? What sort of wild and crazy things did a horseman do? Any scars?"

Equius raised his eyebrows at the question, leaning back and thinking.

"I do have quite a few scars, beyond those on my face, yes. Although It would be inconvenient to remove this entire set of apparel for such a trivial activity." He looked to the side. "As for what a noble man such as myself experience in his youth..."

He wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell her. He knew he wasn't going to make mention of his exiling. Nor did he wish to talk about the events that led up to his exile if he could help it, he didn't trust those to anyone. 

"I was born in the mountains of Equine in the north, under the star of sagi-"

"Boring! Tell me about actmewal stuff mew did! Not a biography."

"Hm. Very well." He wiped a hand over his forehead, where sweat was beginning to gather in larger amounts.

"When I was sixteen I got into a fight with a soldier in full armour, due to the disrespect he showed Arthour here."

"Ooh that's meowr like it! What happened?"

"I crushed his gauntlet, with his hand still in it. It had to be amputated." Equius could remember the sickly sound of metal bending, flesh tearing, and bones snapping. 

"AWESOME! What else?" She was leaning very far back to look at him now, so that her head was only an inch from his chest.

"Two years previous I had been attacked by a drunkard who wasn't aware of the strength I possessed. I broke a tavern bench over his back, and put his friend's head through the table."

"Whoa..." Her eyes were wide hearing the stories of his strength. "Mew must be purretty strong."

"Exceptionally so."

She giggled.

"What is it?" He asked, furrowing his brows.

"Nothing... mew just have a furunny accent sometimes."

He frowned, before looking back ahead.

The conversation died down for a while, as tiredness from the events of the day began to set in properly. They had been riding for hours, and Equius felt like Nepeta was about ready to slump over and slide off the horse.

As much as he was tempted to leave her on the road, he knew it wouldn't be right. 

Trying to remember the map he had seen, he realised they wouldn't reach the next town for quite some time. They needed to rest before that. He sighed at the thought. Looking to the woods that ran alongside the road, he reasoned there must be a suitable spot within. 

Equius pulled on the reins slightly, as Arthour came to a stop. Nepeta looked up to him, tired eyes curious, and a little wary.

"We need to set up camp for tonight. Off."

"You get off first." She was still suspicious of him attempting to leave her behind.

"I can't get off it you don't get off, Nepeta." She frowned in response, before climbing off, far slower than she had been previously.

With a heave, Equius dropped down, before he grabbed the reins and began to lead Arthour into the forest. He had gone camping a fair few times, and knew what was necessary. Although being a fugitive was a new aspect. Camping too close to the road was even more dangerous than before.

"Get rid of Arthour's tracks as we head in." He commanded Nepeta, who groaned.

"Nepeta."

"Fine!" She crouched down at the trail and began to smush up the horse tracks, covering them with leaves and twigs. Equius guessed she knew how to do it, since she had spent a considerable length of time as a fugitive herself, according to some of her stories.

Equius found a spot about one hundred meters from the treeline, where there was a small gap between all the trees. It would work. He tied the reins to a low branch, before finding some suitable branches on the trees. With one heave he ripped a suitable one off, before he snapped it into small pieces, and dumped the bundle into the centre of the clearing.

Nepeta approached just as he was kneeling down to light the bundle. She struck the steel against the flint several times, but his movements were too imprecise and shaky to work. He grunted in frustration after his twenty-fifth attempt and felt the steel start to slowly change shape slightly under his incredibly painful, angered grip.

"Here let me, dummy." She took it from his hands, and in five strikes she had the base of the bundle burning. She blew into it gently, before smiling up to him, proud.

He turned away, giving his attention to Arthour. He gave the horse a rub. "Time to lie down for a while, partner." The horse seemed to undestand him, as it lowered itself to lie down.

"I thought horses slept standing up?" Nepeta inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"They do, most of the time, but they do need a small rest lying down every now and then. He'll be standing in less than an hour, and rest for the rest of the night like that."

"Oh." Nepeta hummed, before taking off. "I'm going hunting. I'm hungry."

Equius raised an eyebrow, not sure how successful she would be without a weapon or trap. Shaking his head, he began to remove his clothing, spending an annoying length of time just trying to remove his torso garment. He was just undoing his belt when he realised it would probably make his company rather uncomfortable to do such a thing. He lay the coat and tunic across the ground making a makeshift place to sleep for the night, in front of the warm fire.

Nepeta returned after a few moments, carrying two dead hares in her hands. Equius opened his mouth to say something, before stopping. 

"Got some food!" She laughed, before she began to carve them up with practiced skill.

They were cooked in short order, and Nepeta had eaten the entirety of hers by the time Equius was only a third through his. She laughed when he made note of it, and wiped away some blood from her mouth. 

When he was another third through it, she had somehow made it all the way around the fire, right up to his side. 

"We should sleep together, for warmth and stuff." She suggested.

Equius looked at her, expressionless, before he scoffed down the rest of his hare. "We can sleep close, but no arms around each other."

"Aaalright."

Settling down just a few feet from Arthour, Equius closed his eyes, hearing the crackling of the flames, the breaths of his life partner a few feet away, and the soft snoring of the women who was curled up right beside him, who had fallen asleep only moments after lying down.

"Goodnight, old friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHHHHHH I LOVE THEM KHSDFJKASDHFJDHALFJHASDJKFHSDJKFHSD


	5. Goodnight, Arthour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey continues.

Equius awoke in the early morning to find Nepeta's arms around him. He groaned in frustration, before prying her tight grip from around him. He winced as her claws dug in as he pulled her away, drawing some blood along his sides. She curled up as he finally got free, standing up and stretching. He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, chilly. It was what he preferred, compared to the disgustingly stale and polluted air of the towns.

The fire was completely out, and only a thin trail of smoke rose up from the inside, where he could see some orange embers, the vestiges of the blaze. He gave the ash and charred wood a light kick, scattering the remains of the fire across the ground, and stamped out whatever burnings remained.

After another few stretches, he turned over to Arthour, who was, as expected, standing. The horse looked up to him as he approached, leaning into the pats. He smiled. At least Arthour was the same as ever. He looked down to the girl who was sleeping on his coat. Unlike some things.

He couldn't understand why the girl insisted on staying with him. Judging by her ability, she was well able to fend for herself, and it was far less likely for her to get caught if she was to go alone. But she stayed, despite Equius' many protests. It was quite perplexing and frustrating.

Equius looked up to see the position of the sun in the sky. He couldn't see it over the trees that surrounded them, but judging by where the shadows were against the leaves, it was only about eight. He reckoned he would wait about an hour before setting out on the road.

Looking down to the scabbard lying beside Arthour's tree, Equius realised he had forgot to clean the blood from it. He cursed himself as he reached down and picked it up, drawing out the blade.

There was plenty of blood coating the middle of the blade, a decent portion of which had been scraped up the length of the metal by his sheathing. With a partially cautious hand, Equius pulled a rag from the pocket of his coat, almost covered by the sleeping feline. He wasted no time as he set to cleaning the sanguine stains from the steel.

Taking care of his blade was one of the things that kept him sane during his exile. His sword and his horse. They were irreplaceable. He still had the emblem of his family carved into the base of the blade, the proud stallion rearing up in a magnificent and majestic pose. He remembered the days where that emblem was on everything he wore, be it a tunic or a simple gauntlet. It was a fierce pride the Zahhak's held for their bloodline.

He supposed that is why they were so harsh and quick to exile him for his doings. Such impurities were revolting to them. Not to mention to him, on the nights when he had no choice but to ponder over it.

Satisfied with the state of the blade, Equius nodded, before sliding it back into its scabbard, before pulling it out again, wiping away the blood that had stayed on the inside of the sheath. He went on with that for a while, making sure to get as much blood as possible out of the scabbard. He couldn't let too much get on it, or the blade would rust. It probably already had a few years scraped off its lifespan with his forgetting last night.

It was just as he was placing his sword back down that Nepeta did stir. She wiped her eyes with her hands before looking up to him, then down to the coat upon which she lay. Without much ceremony, she rolled over, then over again, before she finally pushed herself to her feet. She groaned, looking around.

"I need water."

Equius looked to the water bota on Arthour's saddle. Picking it up, he sloshed around the contents.

"There isn't much." He declared. "We'll have to find a stream or something to get some water from." He tossed the bota over to Nepeta, who hastily took off the cap, before gulping down the contents.

"I hadn't had a drink yet." Equius informed her when she finally brought the container from her lips.

"Oh."

It took Equius about twenty minutes of searching through the nearby woods to find a stream, leaving Nepeta behind to guard Arthour and the sword. He took the time to limber up properly as he searched. Finding the source of water, he quickly filled up the container and hand a drink, before heading back to the camp.  
Nepeta was doting over Arthour when he arrived, rubbing her hands in every direction across the horse's face, and making sounds that Equius guessed must been attempts at speaking to the animal.

Not saying a word to the girl, Equius began to pack his things back onto the saddle, before finally putting back on his coat, taking a few minutes to do up each strap properly. He secured the scabbard over his back once more, and untied the reins from the tree branch. 

"Do I need to cofur our tracks again?" Nepeta asked as they began to leave the clearing.

"It would likely be useful, yes." Equius confirmed, gently leading Arthour between the trees. Surprisingly, she didn't huff. Maybe she was improving, the gods perhaps taking pity on the poor knight, relieving him of his annoyance.

Getting to the road, he stepped up and swung a leg over the horse, shuffling around to get comfortable. Nepeta hopped up as usual, in one leap getting herself just where she intended to be. 

Without ceremony, Equius dug his heels against Arthour's sides, and so they began forward.

The ride was peaceful at first, as Nepeta remained tired, and quite drowsy. Several times she caught herself falling backwards into Equius, before leaning back forwards. It was only after an hour or so of quiet riding did she finally begin to wake up properly, and with that, Equius' hope for a quiet day were shattered.

"You know we should do something to pass the time!" She suggested excitedly, looking back to him.

"Silence passes the time just fine."

"No it doesn't! Silence is boring, and just makes you think, which is also furry boring!"

"I quite like thinking."

"Then you are boring." She giggled, before seeming to take a moment to, quite ironically, think. Equius decided not to point this out.

"Maybe we should roleplay!"

"I-I'm sorry?" Equius raised an eyebrow.

"It's like telling and story, but way furrier!"

"Furrier?"

"Funnier." She explained her pun. "I'm not at my best give me some time."

"I don't think that is my thing." Equius tried to convince her to abandon what he was sure was an absolutely atrocious idea that would do nothing but irritate him.

"Oh I'm sure it is! Here I'll start! My character is the powerful lioness Pounce De Leon, (named after my last cat)." She cleared her throat.  
"Please don't." Equius begged.

But it was too late.

"Pounce appurroaches the tall and sweaty centaur, her eyes narrowed and wary! She says 'Whom is this who crosses my domain!'" She looked back to him. "This is where you respond!"

Equius stared blankly at her, blinking once, twice, three times. He leaned back, putting his face in his hand. "Good gods what have I done to deserve this."

"Oh don't be a spoilsport! You just gotta say what Mistpurr centaur is doing, and what he says! You can do it!"

"No, I cannot."

"Yes, you can."

"No I can't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Stop this at once."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"By the gods." 

Nepeta burst into squeals of laughter at Equius' sigh of suffering.

"You are a furry funny man mister Equius."

"It's Zahhak."

She laughed at this, finding it inexplicably funny. Equius didn't think he would ever understand what was so astronomically funny, and was fine with that, as he rode onwards. He decided that learning whatever alien logic that made his statements funny would probably set what wisdom he had back quite a bit.

They rode onwards for another while, wondering how long it would be before they finally reached the next town. Most likely a while. Towns in this land tended to be spread far apart, not many suitable places amongst thick woods and tall, cragged mountains. His homeland was like that as well. He was pretty sure there was less than a dozen villages in the entirety of the region, and only two towns, including the seat of his family's power.

It made him a little homesick, to be honest. The long, uninterrupted rides through endless countryside, not a single house in sight. It granted a sort of solitude upon a lone traveller, letting them know they were the only thinking being for quite some distance. But that was, of course, only when you were a lone traveller. 

"Do you know I can hack up hairballs!"

"No. I did not know that."

"I can! It took a while of purractice but now I can cough up whatever hair I swallow when grooming."

"Why on earth do you groom with your mouth?"

Nepeta didn't seem to have an answer to that one, which honestly made it worse.

Equius wasn't sure for how much longer he could keep this up, listening to her incessant droning and random topics she brought up to discuss. The hairball wasn't even the worst of them.

"One time I ate a hedgehog raw."

"There was once this spurrow that was feeding its babies with by puking but I took it and meowde it feed me... I think I hurt it."

"Do you eat eggs with or without the shell?"

At one point Equius had simply gotten off the horse and walked several feet away. Nepeta didn't say anything as he stared straight ahead, taking deep breaths, before he turned around and got right back on and continued their journey.

After almost another entire day of travelling, Equius realised they would have to set up camp once more. He was beginning to wonder if they were even going in the right direction, or if they had taken a wrong turn and were simply heading into uncharted wilderness in which they would certainly die.

He decided not to think about the second possibility.

The camp was made much like the last one, and within no time a fire was lit, and a few random forest critters were speared and cooking on the fire, their pelts being stitched together by Nepeta.

Equius watched her work, wondering what on earth it was that she was trying to create. After almost an hour of watching her working away, having eaten, humming tune after tune to herself, most of which Equius didn't recognise, she looked up to him.

"So, are you gonna tell me why you aren't a knight anymeowr or am I just supposed to figfur out fur myself?"

Equius stared at her, caught off guard from the sudden question. "I-I..."

She was looking straight at him as she stitched, weaving the thick needle and cord through the pelts with ease. "Well?"

"I... It's a long story."

"I have all night." She assured him, still not looking down to her stitching. She was oddly intense all of a sudden. She could tell before this conversation even started that the topic made him uncomfortable, and she was just following through now. It quickly flashed in his mind that he may have underestimated the girl's mental prowess.

"I... I made a mistake." Equius finally relented. "I pursued a relationship with someone I sorely should not have, for many reasons." He didn't know why he was telling her this. "She was a criminal. A heretic. And I was the lordly son of a noble, destined for greatness."

Nepeta slowed her stitching.

"I made my meetings with her secret, which only made it all the more attractive and thrilling to me. I got caught up in a maelstrom of temptation and disgrace. When I was found out, my reputation was ruined. My family struck my name from the records and exiled my from my homeland. The emblem of my house was slashed from my coat, and all I had left was my sword and Arthour here." He gave the horse a pat.

"Tell me more about the growl." Nepeta instructed him. He didn't even notice the pun.

"She was a heathen, a priestess of death. Worship of the death gods was outlawed in my homeland, and she would have been burned at the stake for what she practiced. I do not know why my infatuation with her was so strong, but it presided over me so. She consumed many a waking thought of mine. It was only a matter of time before i was caught." He sighed.

"Did she burn?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Be-because..." Equius trailed off, a deep shame coming to his face. Nepeta didn't follow up.

He sat silent, staring at his boots as he leaned his bare back against the tree. He didn't notice as Nepeta crawled over to him, not until she was gently tugging on his arm. He followed her pull, being led down to where his coat was laid upon the ground. He felt the rough material press against his bare, scarred shoulder. Neither of them said anything as Nepeta curled up in front of him, wrapping her arms around his torso, and resting her head against his chest.

He closed his eyes as he heard Nepeta speak.

"Goodnight, Arthour."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its kinda slow now but it speeds up trust me  
sorta  
maybe not  
i dunno just comment what you thought


	6. Would You Like To See What's Under This Eyepatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius and Nepeta realise their mistake.

Equius awoke to Nepeta's arms around him once again, but this time he didn't shirk away. Instead he waited for the haze of sleep to pass from his mind, before he began to ponder over the events of the night previous. The girl had shown herself to be more understanding than he had originally anticipated. It seemed she was more than simply a feral huntress of the wilds. She knew more than her savage and vicious exterior let on.

She seemed peaceful, with her head against his chest. He raised an eyebrow, before he glanced about. He would have to get up now anyway, to prepare to continue along the road.

He gingerly prised her arms apart from around him, before he extracted himself from her grasp. Standing up, he was exposed in the cold morning air once again. He looked over to Arthour, who was as prepared as ever. Equius nodded to his steed, before he made the preparations to leave.

Within the hour they were ready to head off. Nepeta had awoken in much the same fashion as the morning before, and looked around with tired eyes for a while before finally helping with the preparations.

In no time they had started to ride down the road, in the same position as before. Nepeta was humming as Arthour trotted along. Equius stared straight ahead as always, thinking of more plans for the future. It wouldn't be long until they reached the gladitorial arena, and he could make some decent coin for himself and Nepeta.

He finally had a decent shot at making some money, and not living from inn to inn. Perhaps Nepeta could use an actual house.

"Equius!" She said suddenly, turning to him.

"Yes?"

"We should roleplay!"

Equius groaned, tilting his head back slightly.

"Purrlease!" She pleaded, looking back at him with large eyes.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"Fine." He sighed.

"YAY!" Nepeta squealed, clapping her hands together excitedly. She cleared her throat, and paused, before beginning her roleplay.

"The great and mighty Pounce De Leon appurroaches the strong and meowscular centaur with much wariness and appurrhension..." She was practically buzzing with excitement. "'Hold! Who is it that trespasses on my domain?'" She looked back to Equius. "Okay now say what the centaur does!"

"Uh... Uh... The... Uh... The strong and meow-muscular centaur looks at the wary lioness with a proud look. Uh... 'I am...' Goshdarnit I don't have a name!"

"Arthour!" Nepeta suggested with a yell. The horses head peaked up at the sound of his name. "Not you silly!"

"Very well then. 'I am Arthour, proud centaur of the House of Zahhak, the powerful and mighty.' How was that?"

"PURRFECT!" Nepeta squealed. "The lioness looks to Arthour with much interest. 'Is that so? Well purrhaps you shall purrove your purrer by taking me on in a round of vigourous combat!' She looks at Arthour, waiting for an answer."

Equius raised an eyebrow. "Arthour looks back at the lioness before him. 'I shall engage in this combat that you suggest, but be warned, for I shall win!'"

"The Lioness laughs at Arthour's pitiful statement, and drops into a low stance. 'We begin in ten seconds.'"

"Arthour flexes his bulging muscles and prepares himself as well. 'You shall regret this day, lioness.'"

"And then, the seconds tick away, and Pounce De Leon's tail sways side to side as she readies herself. Three... two... one and-"

"You didn't count down from ten."

"Equihiss!" Nepeta whined in front of him.

"I didn't say that..." Equius whispered, reaching back for his sword.

There was a rustle in the bushes surrounding the road. All around.

"Get ready..." Equius slid the sword from its sheath. Nepeta arched her back, and flexed her fingers, the long nails looking particularly vicious.

"I wouldn't do that if i were you." There was a laughing voice from the foliage, as someone emerged, a certain swagger to their step.

Equius watched the figure approach. He groaned as he recognised the wild black hair framing a grinning face, one eye, hidden by an eyepatch, one sleeve pinned up, and a tricorn hat topping it all off. 

"Well I'll be damned! If it isn't ol' Horseboy." She laughed, her one hand resting on the hilt of her heirloom cutlass at her side. "Having fun with your adorable little roleplays?"

"Serket." Equius greeted her calmly, still holding his sword half-drawn. Nepeta looked confused in front of him, and was still eyeing the woman warily. An old noble acquaintance, before her family went rogue.

"It's Mindfang now." She corrected him, her half-smile showing one long canine.

"Preserving the family legacy I see." She winked in response. Or blinked. It looked like it was meant to be a wink, at least. "Although I'm noting a distinct lack of a ship."

"Exactly why I'm here, sweaty hooves." Nepeta giggled at the Serket's name, much to Equius' dismay. "Another woman? Didn't think you were too keen on them anymore, after what happened with the last one." Nepeta stopped giggling.

"Hey! Don't you dare-" She growled out before Equius could stop her.

There was a flash, and suddenly Mindfang's sword was out, pointing directly at Nepeta. Her eye was staring intently, the eyelid twitching.

"Don't. Tell me. What to do." She hissed, taking a breath between each phrase. "Or would you like to see what's under this eyepatch?" Nepeta might not know any better, Equius certainly did not want to see.

Nepeta leaned back, intimidated by the sudden change of demeanor, before regaining morale once again. "Come on Equihiss, we can take her, can't we?"

Equius didn't say anything for a moment, calculating as a small grin took Mindfang's face once again, although her sword arm did not lower. She knew exactly what Equius had to say.

"Two on one... I'd say there's a small chance we'd win, especially with the missing arm, as long as we make sure she doesn't show her eye. But I have a feeling..."

Six drawn bows leaned out from the bushes around them, arrows pointed directly at them. He felt Nepeta tense up in front of him at the sight of them. A single arrow was grievous injury. A second was death.

"...she didn't come alone."

"Anyway, as I was saying, my lack of a ship is why I'm here." Mindfang continued, lowering her sword, pressing the tip into the ground as she leaned on it. "Me and the crew ran into a spot of bad luck, lost our ship and all that. So, I've taken up a small job of kidnapping helpless losers!"

"You're going to kidnap us?" Equius asked, deadpan.

"Yes!" Serket nodded enthusiastically

"Are you under the delusion that either of us would fetch a particularly high ransom? Or perhaps: fetch a ransom at all?" 

Mindfang laughed. "You've got a fair point, but no, I don't intend to ransom you." She cracked her neck. "From what I remember, you are one hell of a fighter. What's the tally at now?"

"Four to two." The Zahhak answered.

"Four fights that were won by the skin of our teeth, huh? Then the fifth?" 

"You defeated me without a great struggle." Equius had barely stood a chance against her speed and dexterity with the blade, and she had brought him down within two minutes, with him only landing three glancing blows. He hadn't forgotten it. It was his first humiliation.

"And the sixth?" Mindfang was smiling again.

He glared at the bandit. Nepeta still looked shocked at the hypothetical Equius had give her. 

"But back to the matter at hand: up north they are running a little short of gladiators. Willing to pay a pretty penny for more, you know?"

Equius tightened his grip on his blade. Gladitorial combat was fair enough a career. But forced, as a slave? It was hell.

"You better hope your little lady can handle herself as well, or you're gonna have a bad time." The smug grin made her look particularly tempting to attack.

She slid her sword back into the sheath, as Equius did the same. There was no way he could avoid the number of arrows that would come flying at him if he attacked. And even then, if by some miracle he did, it was more than likely in that time Mindfang would reveal her eye. 

Not to mention Mindfang's fighting greatly outclassing his own. True, she had lost an arm since they last fought, but that would never have stopped her.

"Off the horse! I wanna ride it!"

Equius sighed deeply as he began to dismount, before realising Nepeta wasn't getting off.

"Why does she get to ride the horse?" She began, growling. 

Equius was about to repond, to argue with the feral girl, before he saw Mindfang's face, twisted in agitation, as she reached up to lift her eyepatch. Without a word, Equius shoved Nepeta from the horse, where she hit the ground, hard.

Mindfang laughed, lowing her hand. "Smart."

"Equius!" She shouted up as he dismounted. She looked angry, so he avoided her gaze.

Mindfang cackled as she climbed up on the horse, patting it's neck. 

"Well, well, if it isn't Arthour? How you been boy?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regained motivation!  
I'll write more of this and hopefully post a new chapter next week  
I did rewrite half of this chapter, as I didn't like how quickly I was going inot the sotry, and Tbh i'd prefer if I could fuck around with the concept's i had for a while.  
This is like the second arc i suppose, i think the next one will be what was going to happen next, and then i think i have an idea for the third!  
Also if you like Naruto check out my Haku survives AU fic, or my Yahikonan oneshot i wrote for Konan's birthday


	7. I always fucking hated cats

The walk was long. And humiliating. 

Mindfang rode behind them for hours, as they passed over dozens of dirt roads, some muddier and messier than others. A few of her crew also had horses, the more accomplished and skilled of them, that is. The other dozen or so had to walk alongside Equius and Nepeta, and seemed exceptionally annoyed at trudging through mud, used to the hard wood deck and cobbled stone of dockside ports. Several times along the journey they had boots pulled from their feet by the mud, much to the amusement of the pair.

Mindfang has spent the majority of the trip reading through her large book, a black tome lined and threaded with cobalt blue that she always kept on her person, for as long as Equius had known her. She sometimes let out a hum or two, or some other weird noise, before she leaned closer to read whatever passage had contained so much interest again.  
Her crew didn't seem to pay any notice to it, just walking along and occasionally making chatter in the various languages they knew or shared. From what he could tell there was more than one that couldn't speak the language of the Great Realm, and Equius wondered from where she had recruited such foreign shipmates. 

He could tell with some of the others however. Some were from the straits in the southeast, others from the eastern deserts. It wasn't particularly strange to see an islander in a ship crew, but a desert dweller was a rare sight to see among pirates, admittedly. But he decided it was better not to question it. He didn't want to hear a lengthly spiel from Mindfang about whatever escapade had led to her stumbling upon whatever crew member was in question.

He found it was best to simply not engage with the pirate at all. Engaging meant giving her an excuse to talk. And that was something he'd rather not deal with at this point in time. Simply for his own sanity. 

He looked to his side, where Nepeta was trudging along, still looking annoyed from her earlier shove from the horse. She hadn't said anything to him since, which he was fine with. She had no idea how close she had been to getting a direct hit from the eye. It was an unpleasant experience in the fullest, from what he remembered.

Instead of trying to make conversation, he instead ruminated over what was in store for him at their destination. It made his insides twist up; the thought of fighting as a slave in front of crowds. 

He had fought for entertainment in his youth, but in front of esteemed nobles at tournaments hosted by his father or associates, in which he fought with the noble crest of his family above him.

Now he would fight in dirtied pits surrounded by unwashed men in rags, screaming like pigs at the bloody spectacle before them. Equius didn't like to kill without reason, but he had a feeling he was going to be doing that a lot soon. His sword suddenly felt a lot heavier.

  
The campsite that night was surprisingly functional, considering the madwoman who presided over it. Some of the crew had evidently slept in the wilderness before, what with the quickness they set everything up. Within ten or twenty minutes they were all sitting around a campfire, Nepeta and Equius with their hands bound and tied to a tree, while Mindfang sat up on a low hanging branch, her sword balancing on her knee, sometimes sliding down to her foot to be hopped back up. nepeta had fallen asleep almost an hour ago, and was yet to speak to him.

The sailors were making conversation amongst themselves, two of them speaking in a tongue rife with clicks and other strange sounds, and their words were hearty with laughter. Equius gave a look over to them, and noted dark tattoos with what seemed to be words in some other script adorning their arms, the lines clearly visible against their dark skin. He couldn't recognise the script, although he was never one to know his cultures.

"Abicilean, from the westernmost islands of the south archipelago." He heard Mindfang call over, and turned to her looking down at him, an eyebrow raised. 

"That's who they are. Don't speak a lick o' great tongue, neither of 'em. But one speaks Hualamey, which two of the other lads here speak."

Equius decided to break his silence, seeing as the pirate had already begun.

"It doesn't seem a very effective measure of managing crew; having to pass orders through translators."

Mindfang smirked. "I have my methods." She stretched out before continuing. "The tattoos are prayer verses, picked at the age of manhood." 

"And they mean."

"Be damned if I know. None of my business." She laughed.

"You don't try to get to know your crew?"

"Why would I, dear? All that matters to me is their loyalty and their swordarm. Both of which are pretty good in terms of the two before you. The one with five rows of hair? Got the jump on me from behind when I managed to get myself stranded on one of his people's islands. Almost cut me down."

"And how did you get him on your side?" Equius enquired, genuinely interested now.

Mindfang simply tapped her eyepatch, and her other eye closed in a way that Equius imagined it must have been meant as a wink. "He lasted about five minutes before he saw the light."

"You're a twisted woman, Serket." 

"Certainly left me twisted, using it that long. I could barely stand. He had to carry me." She laughed louder than before.

"And the other?"

"Oh, him? That's Five's cousin, Six. He fell alongside his brother. Little bastard was too weak to survive without him. Did him a favour honestly, he's as strong as any soldier now."

"You are not giving them names based upon the number of rows in their hair surely?"

"You go ahead and try to pronounce their names then! Ey Mallark! Get Six to say his name!" She called to one her pirates.

A rather local looking man nodded before turning to Six and speaking in a tongue from the southern deserts, which Equius vaguely recognised from the far visitors that would sometimes make appearances in his father's court. Friends from the old days, he would say. Six looked annoyed that his conversation was interrupted, before speaking out a short word, filled with clicks and sounds from the throat that Equius didn't know even existed up until then.

"Say that! Huh? Say it!" Mindfang spat, her eye wide and a manic grin across her face. 

Equius shook his head. "I relent."

"Exactly! Besides, it's not like they give a damn what I call them, as long as Six doesn't lose his brother, and Five doesn't get another hit from my sweet voice. Now, I tire of you, go to sleep."

Mindfang turned away, and Equius realised there was little point in staying awake anyway, unless he wanted to hear some more conversations of words he couldn't understand. Sighing, he closed his eyes, and hoped that sleeping in such an awkward position wouldn't leave him with too sore a back in the morning.

Equius awoke to a scratching against his wrists. He groaned slightly as he opened his eyes, annoyed at the pirates interrupting his sleep. He was suddenly hushed, and froze. Glancing backwards, he found Nepeta working hard against the binds around their wrists, scratching through the thick rope with her nails.

"What are you doing?"

"Shush, you idiot!" She hissed back, before finally tearing through her own binds. She quickly pulled away and turned to get to work on his. 

Equius looked around quickly and saw the pirates all asleep around the campfire, Mindfang nestled up in her tree, her sword glinting with the dying light of the fire's embers. It occurred to him that if any of them were awake...

"Nepeta, this is a terrible idea."

"Well what better idea do you have, huh? Do you wanna be a bloody gladiator?"

"Language!" He hissed back, before checking to ensure he hadn't woken any of their captors.

"That cannot be what you are cocnerned about right now." She stared at him with her big eyes. He simply turned his head down, before his bindings came loose.

"Grab your sword, we can slit their throats now."

"No. We should flee."

"No, we need to get them off our trail" Her face was screwed up in anger as she hissed at him, frequently checking to make sure they weren't awake.

"I will not kill a defenceless opponent."

"Fine then! I will!"

She turned to the pirates and crept up to one as Equius stammered quietly in complaint, reaching down for his sword. She moved up to a man lying beside Mallark, and in one quick movement placed her hand on his mouth as she thrust her claws into his throat, and pulled out. Equius winced at the sight of the blood gushing from the wound as the man quickly died, but not ebfore hsi eyes flew open and he tried to thrash about for a split second.]

Nepeta quickly moved onto Mallark beside him, but just as she reached down to cover his mouth a hand shot up and caught her wrist. He roared out as he pulled her down, simultaneously getting himself up. The pirate whipped out his cutlass with the speed of a practiced warrior and drew it back, preparing to thrust. Within a moment his arm was in two, as blood spurted out, covering the other pirates, half awakened by the roar. 

"Let's go!" Nepeta yelled, scampering up and away into the trees.

"But Arthour!" Equius yelled, faltering.

"No time!" 

Nepeta shot up and followed him as they ran from the camp, hearing the pirates gathering their wits and beginning to chase them, Mallark still yelling. His breath was horse as he pushed through the branches in front of him, the blade of his sword grasped firmly in his gauntleted hand. Nepeta wove between them with dexterity as he blundered through, grunting at they whipped against his face, some cutting into his skin. 

He could hear a vitriolic scream as he almost tripped over a root in the undergrowth.

"GET BACK HERE YOU HORSE-FUCKING FREAK! I'LL TAKE YOUR DAMN HEAD OFF!"

Equius almost faltered at the voice. By the gods, she was mad.

A few seconds later they burst from the treeline onto the road. They stopped and looked to either side.

"We should get off the roads, otherwise they can follow us clearly. We need to lose them!" Equius yelled, before beginning to sprint towards the other side of the road.

"No, not that forest!" Nepeta yelled, and he stopped. "We should head back into this one, that way they will head in the wrong direction!"

"There will be no footprints in that case!" Equius shouted back, preparing to go into the forest in front of him.

"It's dark they won't see them!"

"We are going this way!"

"They'll catch us!"

"No they won't!"

"Yes they will!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"N- Oh by THE GODS!"

Equius roared out as the pirates burst from treeline to meet them, weapons bared. One beelined right for him, preparing for a quick slice with his cutlass. Equius turned his blade quickly in his hands, knocking the strike wide, before quickling shifting his hold and dragging it upwards, bisecting his opponent with a scream.

"Hold it! No one else attack."

Mindfang's voice was clear as she barked out an order, stepping out from the darkness. The pirates pulled back. Equius heard an angry mutter as the nearest one to him stepped back, and could clearly see the angry glare of the man.

"He killed Six, Captain!" One of the others shouted. 

"He was the weaker of the two, I can deal with that." Mindfang replied, stepping closer towards the pair. Finally, she addressed them.

"Well, you surely have decided to cause a fuss. Most unlike you Equius, taking such a big risk... Maybe you've finally started being the man your father wanted you to be."

"It was my idea, bitch!" Nepeta screamed at her, dropped low into a stance, her teeth bared.

"Or maybe not... A shame." She put a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"I always fucking hated cats." She began to step towards Nepeta, and before Equius could react the smaller girl leapt at her, interrupting drawing of the sword and attempting to claw at her face.

Mindfang reacted quicker than they could ever hope to, as her arm shot up to knock away the strike, before grabbing her by the neck and throwing her hard onto the ground. She took a jumping step towards the girl, quickly recovering, before booting her hard against the face, and sending her tumbling back. 

Equius began forward, bringing his sword up to strike down the captain. With a flash her sword was out, and she parried the strike with the skill of someone born with a sword in her hands. She parried the next two just as easily, and Equius heard her maniacal laughter, as the sword was drawn quickly upwards, slicing against his face and cutting deep into his cheek. She followed this with a swift kick to the midsection, and Equius fell back to one knee, surprised with the blow. Unrelenting, Mindfang jumped forward, landing a foot on his knee, and bringing her other foot swiftly upwards. It slammed hard into his chin, and his neck snapped back as she continued on, doing a full flip backwards before landing in a low crouch.

Equius fell back, blood filling his mouth. He saw the silhouette of the captain turn to Nepeta once again.

Nepeta yelped out before she quickly rose again and leapt at the pirate. Mindfang once again batted her strike down to the right, sword still in hand, before bringing her right knee up to slam hard into Nepeta's stomach. The bottom of her sword hilt cracked into the base of the small girl's skull. She pulled her arm to her chest, before lashing out with another right kick, sending Nepeta stumbling back to the left, straight into the wide backfist that smashed against her cheek.

The small girl crawled about on the ground, whimpering, before trying to rise once again, as Equius did too. Mindfang yelled in victory as she kicked hard into her chest, sending her tumbling back a few feet.

As Nepeta lay helpless a bit away from her, Mindfang sheathed her sword, before giggling, reaching up to her eyepatch. Equius realised what was happening, and leapt forward at the patch lifted, the ghastly mess that surrounded her seven pupilled eye coming into view.

He screamed out her name, throwing himself in front of Nepeta as the ghastly eye came into full view, and he was caught in the blast.

"VRISKA!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this house we love and simp for vriska fuckin serket  
even whenever she isnt saved from her mindfang idolatry by her friends ~uwu~


	8. Content, He Reckoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius experiences the cruelty of a pirate captain.

Equius grunted as he hit the ground, breathing heavily. He waited a few seconds, before looking up. He found the sadistic grin of Vriska Serket shining bright against her otherwise dark form. 

"Poor boy." He heard, before he felt something at his hands.

Looking down, he saw spider. Hundreds of them, crawling beneath his palms. He yelled out, pushing himself back away from them, and scraping away those on his hands. They were just spiders. Just spiders. He looked to below him, and found the entire ground covering in a black mass of the bugs. He screamed, pulling himself up to standing, slamming his hands down on the ground to kill them. They were just spiders. Just spiders. He felt the bites of those he had missed on his hands, and looked down to see black blood coming from the woundmarks on his hands. He collapsed down into the mass of spiders.

Just spiders. 

He roared out, pulling himself up, sweat appearing all across his body as his breathing quickened. They were spiders. He wasn't afraid of spiders. They began to emerge from the joints and creases of his armour, crawling out from under his sleeves, and biting. He cried out in pain. He wasn't afraid of them. He wasn't. His heart beat fast, and his breathing was irregular, quick huffs. 

He flailed about, desperately trying to get the spiders of him as they bit him again and again, the venom in his blood erupting in pain all across his body. He heard the fiendish laughter of the captain slightly off.

"Help me! HELP ME!" He screamed out, feeling the spiders bite apart his skin, crawling into his wounds, filling him with venom and crawling legs. He was being devored by them, piece by piece. Agony filled him, and his voice caught, not capable of screaming anymore from the pain, as spiders began to fill his throat. He scraped at his skin, no relief coming from his nails digging in to rip the spiders out.

Tears were pouring down his face, before his eyes too, were filled with the arachnids. He convulsed, as his thoughts whitened, the pain overwhelming him. He wanted it to end. But it wouldn't. It never would. He was infested, a nest. His life was to be a breeding ground of the things, in eternal torture. If he could cry, scream, do anything to express the unending pain, he would have. He just wanted to die.

  
"Kill... Me..."

"Oh don't be so dramatic you big oaf." He heard Vriska's laugh, more tired than before, as the pain lessened just enough to hear.

He lay motionless, his body still wracked with pain, as the images of spider's still filled his vision, but blurry.

"What did you do to him?" He heard a scream, as the spiders faded for a moment.

"A gift that was meant for you, so shut it or I'll gut you." She hissed. 

Equius didn't hear any more words said for what felt like an eternity as he lay on the ground, twitching and gasping as pain wracked him, and his vision was consumed by the arachnids. Eventually some other feelings besides the vinsufferable pain returned to him. Unfortunately those feelings were wanting to throw up.

He felt a kick on his side and was forcefully turned over, where the light of the sun blinded him, as the spiders faded into almost nonexistence. A silhouette loomed over him, lit orange from the torchlight. The face came into focus, and he made out a massive smug grin on the face of the pirate.

"Having fun down there?"

"I... hate... you..." He took a breath with each word, forcing out the syllables through the pain.

"Most people do, you're not special." She cackled. "Now get up, or I'll kick you again."

Equius groaned as he tried to pull himself off the ground, but his hand slipped into a depression and fell back down, gasping as he hit the mud path.

"Watch it; you made some pretty big dents with all your thrashing about."

He tried again, but cried out as pain flared up all over his body again, and flashes of the insects filled his vision. He fell back down, smacking his chin against the dirt.

"You pathetic bastard." He heard Vriska sigh. "Alright come here."

He felt his arm get grabbed and pulled up, and he was hoisted to his feet. He looked to his side, his eyes drooping, and saw Vriska, his arm slung around her shoulder. She began to walk forward, pulling the heavy man with relative ease for someone of her size. 

He tried to continue walking, but found his feet stumbling.

"Ey, Pussycat, get his other side." Vriska barked, and soon Equius felt himself being supported on both sides, as they began forward.

"Since i can't trust either of you to sit quiet all night like good little captives, I guess we're doing this the hard way. No more rest stops." Equius groaned. "Shut it!"

She began calling out orders. "You two, go get the supplies from the camp, use the horse to get back to us, Five, go bury your cousin, meet us at the city later. And also, you two, see if it's worth saving Mallark. If not-"

Equius saw her bring her hand to her neck, before dragging a thumb across her throat. He couldn't miss the smile that accompanied the jesture.

"Anyway, let's get moving."

The three began to move down the road, the two of them basically carrying the third between them. Equius found it hard to keep his steps straight, and more than once his steps veered to a side, almost tripping the others. When it was Nepeta, he would hear a soft "careful". When it was Vriska, she'd butt the side of his head.

It was after almost thirty minutes of being dragged along like that that he managed to finally get a proper walk going. He was surprised that the two were able to hold up an almost completely armouredman of his size up for so long, particularly Nepeta. She seemed to be a little bit tired, and her breaths were certainly heavier than before. 

Vriska on the other hand, was completely fine. For the last ten or so minutes she had been whistling a tune, probably of some sea shanty. She seemed to have settled into some rare moment of ataraxy, where her usually angry eye, narrowed and ignited with choler, was instead blissful, and held that occasional look from her youth when she came across some new species of arachnid. Content, he reckoned.

After a few seconds, Equius realised he was staring, but not before Vriska did. She turned suddenly to him, the bliss replaced by the embers of her wrath. "What're you lookin' at, horseface?" 

He looked away, not deigning to say what he had been thinking. 

"Useless." He heard her say, as she turned to face forward again.

He glanced over to Nepeta, who was staring hard ahead, an angry frown on her face. She still seemed immeasurably upset with the ways things had developed. He didn't blame her. If he wasn't so dazed he would be angry too.

"Alright kitty, you take over." Vriska said after a few more minutes, before sliding out from under Equius, who stumbled to the side, but managed to keep himself upright, mostly thanks to the girl pulling him up beside her.

Vriska stretched her arm out as she walked alone now, flexing her wrist, as Nepeta grunted trying to keep Equius walking. He was managing a better gait, but he was far from completely recovered.

He heard the pirate's laughter. "I really did get you good, huh? I wonder how it would have worked on the girl. She's a lot smaller, after all."

After another half an hour of walking Equius could manage on his own, with a small trip every few minutes. Nepeta was still at his side, making sure he didn't fall down. He could see in the faint light over her face that her eyes were focused on the pirate, and her alone.

Speaking of light, he could see the glow of the sun coming up behind the hills beside them, as they approached their destination. He could faintly see the town before them, as it slowly grew more and more illuminated. 

It was a large settlement, but by no means the largest Equius had ever laid eyes upon. A few carts were heading out of it now, their morning journeys beginning. He could make out a few small towers on the town walls. 

Just as he was trying to discern more of it, Arthour rode up beside him, Fives upon it. The other two had given him the horse to catch up after the burial of his cousin, it seemed. He nodded to his captain before dismounting. Vriska hopped on with glee, glad to make her arrival at the town more benefiting of her position as dreaded pirate lord of the seas.

It was still wasn't that much benefiting, but Equius decided to keep that to himself.

The town came intro clearer focus as they came close, and Equius could make out the dozens of poor from the moment they approached the gates. The buildings within were dilapidated, and the roads were little more than mud with an occasional stone tossed in. He could already see beggars on the sides of the streets. 

They were stopped at the gate, and an armed guard enquired as to their purpose, his face hidden underneath his helmet.

Vriska, on her horse with a most casual and empowered pose, told them.

"We're bringing some... involuntary volunteers, for the arena of course."

The guard nodded his head towards Five. "Him?"

"No!" Vriska snarled, her hand instinctively landing on her sword hip. After a few seconds, she leaned back, moving her arm to indicated towards the pair. "Them."

"They don't look like much. Fella looks like he can hardly stand." The guard remarked.

"I gave him a nasty beating on the road, he'll recover. As for her: ever tried cornering a cat?"

Equius heard the guard chuckle beneath his helmet, the animal face fashioned into the front remaining motionless. "Fair enough, in you go, arena is at the end of the main road."

"Thank you, darling." Vriska tipped her hat, before leading the crew inside.

Mallark shoved past Equius as they moved inside, almost causing him to fall flat on his face. He looked up to see the pirate walking away, a hand covering the sealed stump of his arm. Equius was surprised he survived in the first place.

The trip up to the arena wasn't much to write home about, as it uncannily resembled his travel through Elenvalley, only somehow worse. And the guard's a little more openly brutal. Their animal helmets sure added to the intimidation they posed, no doubt.

The arena however, was something else entirely. A massive construction of both wood and stone, it towered above them while looking like it was fit to fall apart at any moment. Equius had no idea how anyone would ever go into the thing, nevermind with a crowd of a thousand upon it. The entire wall was covered in paintings and iconagraphy detailing bloody death and glory. 

Gods, this was going to be horrible.

The guards at the main gate were far better armed and armoured than those previously, and their posture and attitude told of a better discipline. They saw the party before them and guessed their purpose. Both of them pointed to the side, where Equius could see a second gate, with a large sign titled "combatants" hanging above it.

Sighing, the crew began to walk the road along the wall, passing by yet more gruesome art prophesising the pair's eventual fate.

Equius noted that there was no line as they approached, instead just a bored guard twirling his sword.

"I've got some dogs for you!" Vriska yelled down from her horse. 

"Are any of your combatants: sick, wounded, insane, mentally deficent, unlearned in the common tongue, or have any other conditions that may affect them in their enrollment and fighting, or may endanger the lives of other combatants pre-fight?" The guard recited of rote, looking up to the captain as he pulled a pile of papers from his desk.

"The long hair is a bit strong, but apart from that no, they're fine."

"We've dealt with strongmen before." Equius saw him mark down a number of lines, before moving onto the bottom of the page.

"Names and rough estimate of skill, please."

Vriska groaned at the questions. "Equius Zahhak and... Hey cat! What's your name?"

Nepeta didn't respond, and before Vriska could beat her, the guard interrupted. "Equius Zahhak and Cat, it will do. Skill?"

Shaking her head, Vriska answered. "Cat is a nimble little shit and could probably deal with any commoner with ease, probably a trained soldier as well. Zahhak has a shot at the champion."

The guard looked up. "You sure about that?"

"Considering on who I plan to bet this money on, yes."

"If you say so..." The guard sounded bemused. "We'll set them up for a test match, a warmup for the day. If they survive, and you're boy is as strong as you say he is, we'll throw him against the champ." 

"Splendid."

Equius looked up to her, glaring. She was going to not only reap profit from selling him, but from forcing him to fight as well.

He looked to the horse beneath her, looking rather dejected in his own right. He whispered a quiet reassurance. 

"We'll get out of this yet, Arthour."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh i dont think my writing has been top notch recently


	9. His Cuts Wouldn't Be As Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Equius is brought to his cell

Equius had been aware that being sold was far from a pleasant experience, but he never would have expected such brutality. 

He grunted as he was dragged through several rooms and corridors, all dark and lit only by the occasional torch, and tiny glints of sunlight that found themselves a path between the bricks. The ground was uneven and had stones and other things tossed about, and he tripped several times as he was escorted through. One of the guards had a chain wrapped around the binds on his hands, and tugged him every time he fell short, while another was behind him, dagger in one hand, the other shoving him forward when his pace slacked.

For the most part he just went with it. He knew that struggling would have the dagger brought closer, and the tugs harder, and he could pretty much stand what he was dealing with now, but he heard behind him the sounds of a struggle, as his accomplice fought against her captors. Growls hisses and the sounds of a body thrashing against its chains were clearly audible in the dark cavern.

They had been brought in almost immediately after the selling, and watched as Vriska rode off with her crew, laughing and swinging about her new back of coins. Within seconds their had been binded more securely and were dragged into the depths of the arena to become naught but slaves of slaughter for the clientele. They were brought through a large door, the secure and intimidatingly strong locking mechanism of which Equius managed a glance at as they passed, Nepeta still struggling against the guards.

Within a few minutes they were deep inside the complex, and within the corridors of darkness, where Equius could faintly hears yelps and moans of pain from many prisoners far off.

"Stop struggling damnit!" The guard behind Equius yelled, before he felt himself being pushed forward as the guard fell on his back from behind, Nepeta having no doubt kicked the one in front of her, causing a domino effect. Equius grunted as his chain was pulled, dragging him up to his feet.

"Litte bitch!" Equius heard an impact and a yelp, before more struggling, as they continued their way down into the depths.

"Maybe I should just gut the bitch? That would make this easier." He heard from behind their convoy. 

"No! We payed good money for these, I don't feel like getting the lash on your impatience." The guard directly behind Equius responded.

"We mostly payed for the big guy, not the little runt!"

"I don't care, you'll get a beating if you do, and not only from the magistrate!"

Even Equius, with his heavy breathing, could hear the sigh of indignance that sounded out through the corridor.

They walked for a while longer, and Equius felt his breath get heavier as they did, and sweat gather on his face, as his shoulders brushed the sides of the corridor. He couldn't describe it exactly, but there was a deeply uncomfortable feeling gripping at him from inside, as his eyes scanned over the walls, black in the darkness.

The feeling came to his in a rush when he spotted the slitherings of movement in a tiny spot where the sunlight came in, as a small spider crawled across its web. Equius reacted on instinct, throwing himself away from the spider, and slamming himself into the wall beside him, yelling out as he did so.

There was a might crack as he impacted, and he felt the wall give way slightly for him,as dust and tiny bits of rock rained down on him.

"Yes! Fight!" He could faintly hear Nepeta scream as he trashed against his captors.

He felt the chain being yanked to almost no effect as he tried to push himself farther and farther from the insect. It wasn't until the knife was held right to his throat did he relent, cold sweat dripping down his face.

"Up!" The dagger wielder yelled.

He kept his eyes away from the wall as he allowed himself to be dragged forth, his breath quick and his hands shaking slightly.

"She wasn't lying when she said he was strong, huh? Fucker nearly tore down the wall with just his shoulder." The guard leading Nepeta mused.

"I guess not. He'll make a damn good spectacle I'm sure."

A few minutes of being dragged along, or struggling along, in Nepeta's case, and they arrived at a barely lit room deep within the building. Only a few small lamps hanging from the wooden beams constituting the ceiling were lit and casting a soft glow across the room, and Equius' now adjusted eyes could make out the shapes of several people about the room, all sitting or lying down. He could feel their eyes focused on him as he was brought in, the guards leading him to a corner, a dagger aimed right at his face as they undid the bindings. He could see the point glisten in the dim light right in front of him, and he knew better than to move.

He glanced over and noted another guard at the entrance the room, standing in front of the metal gate with a wicked looking sword tight in his grip, as his eyes scanned over the room, noting any movement of those scattered about. Equius then understood their stillness.

With his rope attached to his bonds removed, the two escorting him pointed inwards to the room, and Equius obliged, walking away while they moved over to attend to his accomplice. He looked over to see her struggling as always against them, fighting tooth and claw to be free, as three of them moved to restrain her while the fourth removed the rope connected to her binds. 

He heard a yelp, as Nepeta's teeth sunk deep into the arms of one of the guards. He saw one of them reach back, before swinging and landing a hard punch to the side of her head. Equius stepped towards them as the girl's head lulled to the side, her eyes unfocused. The guard at the gate pointed his sword, and Equius could tell that he didn't know or care to know how much Equius was apparently worth when it came to cutting him down.

Equius stepped back, wary of the swordsman, as the others finally undid the knot, and tossed Nepeta to the ground, before all moving out of the chamber, one by one giving looks to Equius, each slightly different in emotion than the last.

"We will see you tomorrow, big boy." One of them laughed, not looking back as he left.

The guard who left last, with his sword still drawn, cast one more glance across the room, still not saying a word, before stepping out, and locking the gate behind him. 

Equius watched them as they left, walking through the darkened corridors, before he turned to Nepeta, who was still slightly dizzy as she tried to lift herself up. Equius moved over to her, putting out his bound arms to steady her slightly as she regained her senses. 

After a few seconds she glared up at him.

"Thanks for the help, you oaf!" She hissed, before pulling away, and stumbling a bit, before straightening up.

The guard must have managed a clean square hit on her. 

"Now Nepeta that is hardly fair; they were armed."

"You're their new prime livestock you bumbling idiot! They wouldn't hurt you even if they wanted to! Look what it took for them to hit me!"

"I understand that but it is by no means a black and white matter, there are risk-"

"UGH!" Nepeta turned away, huffing angrily as she did.

Equius sighed in exasperation and followed her into the corner of the small room. 

"Are you injured?" He asked, trying desperately to spot any wounds in the dim light.

"No, I'm fine!" The girl responded, shrinking away.

Nepeta this is helping no one I swear.

"So *now* you're interested in helping people?" 

Equius shoulders sagged, before he turned away from the girl, realising his efforts were futile.

He looked around the room instead, noting that the other prisoners were on their feet, watching while staying almost as far away as they could. He could feel the suspicion and wariness, seeing a large man being the "prime livestock" suddenly entering their cell. He decided to ignore their suspicious stares, taking note of everything that was in the room.

He could faintly make out a small table in the centre of the room, beaten and crooked, with no chairs or anything on it. But that was all there was, save for the sandy ground and the beams above. It wasn't the harshest cell Equius had endured, but it was the darkest. Even the Sagittarius dungeons were awash with light, with a large open window to the cold cliffs. Cold, but bright. 

And notoriously more isolated, he had to say. Your only company was a person in a cell somewhere else in the cliffs. This was definitely a difference. 

He couldn't exactly make out how the people looked in the darkness, other than the fact that they were of differing shapes and sizes. He could faintly tell that one was in a fine physical state, and held a strong posture. 

It pained Equius to realise he would mostly likely be cutting this man down the next day, if things went how he expected them to. He took deep breath, as he resigned himself to the fact that it would be easier to never talk to these people, if he was eventually to kill all of them, or else be tortured or killed himself.

He gritted his teeth for a moment, before moving over to a corner of his own. He sat hismelf down onto the sand, feeling the stone behind his thickly clothed back, and prayed that there was no spiders behind him, the simply thought of which made sweat begin to build up.

He had almost forgotten about the side effect of Vriska's vile power. The lingering fear it left behind, either through its sorcery itself, or simply a suitable trauma response. He didn't care to figure out which, it usually faded in time. He was still uncomfortable around spiders for months after, though. He wasn't sure if Vriska knew about that little fact, but she most likely wouldn't care enough to ask people what it was like. Additionally, those that were hit usually avoided being near her ever again. Or were killed within the next few minutes, depending on who they were.

He just hoped there were no spiders in the arena, or it would be his death.

His mind then wandered to the thoughts of how the fight was to proceed. He didn't have his sword, Vriska had taken that, and rode of with it strapped to her back. He would probably be using some of the arena's swords, of much lesser make and quality. The thought wasn't a nice one. His cuts wouldn't be as clean, and neither would whatever death he inflicted.

At least he could keep his armour, he supposed, that would prove invaluable to him in the coming fight. Unless of course they decided to strip him of it. He really had no idea what they planned to do, or how they planned to present him. Considering the curiosity that Vriska had injected into them, he was going to be treated as a special card, something to use with much more caution and practice than the others, than Nepeta.

He glanced over to the corner where she sat, and he could see here dragging her claws through the sand. He wondered how she would fare. She was by no means an incompetent fighter, and could well claw an opponent to death if need be. But being prone to outbursts in front of a crowd, and when being brought to her match would not do her any favours at all. She was going to suffer for her impulsiveness, no doubt.

Deciding to rest a while, he slipped into a small nap, where he dreamed of things that made him happy. Fields, mountains, horses.

"Arthour."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh exciting stuff starts soon dont worry, although i wrote a lot of this today rushing djhfjdf


	10. Through Blood and Slaughter

Equius awoke what he guessed was some hours later, grunting in pain as he pulled himself up straighter a bit, feeling a pain in his back from it staying in a weird position for a few hours. He took a deep breath as he brought his hands up to his neck, suddenly twisting it and sighing with the loud crack that eminated out and lessened the pain a great deal.

He felt his mind clear more of his dreams and their memories as he pulled himself up to his feet, trying to get his blood flowing to help wake him up, even if he had little to wake up to in general. He heard the crunching of sand beneath his feet as he came up, swaying for a second before stretching out.  
Feeling his back crack slightly as he stretched out, he looked to see what had woken him from his slumber, and with his now adjusted, albeit tired and groggy eyes, could see the cell door open, and two men step in, while a third drew his blade and stood guard. 

They looked around the cell with predatory expressions, seemingly sizing everyone up before one of them finally spoke. 

"A culling three way free-for-all? How even do we want the odds?" One of the two asked, letting the group of chains in his hand hang down, clinking malevolently.

"Boss wants it in and around seven seven two, he said." The other replied, one hand resting on the hilt of a small dirk sheathed at her waist. He glanced around once more, before bringing her hand up and pointing at two seperate people one at a time.

"You and you, two sevens when compared to..."s he let the last vowel hang as she searched around the room, hier arm raised and ready to point at the final unfortunate victim. At last it was thrown down.  
Equius followed the trail of the hand, and his eyes widened as he realised it was pointed directly at Nepeta's corner. 

"Hold, didn't the others say this one was fiesty, probably worthy of a high fight?" The swordsman at the gate inquired, his voice far different from what Equius would have expected from the guard the day before. He realised that a spot of luck had chanced upon them.

"The others couldn't fight off a streetcat, I wouldn't trust their opinion on a prisoner's strength no matter what was at stake. She's probably nothing more than a regular peasant girl, throw her in with them two, watch them tear her apart." The woman commented, laughing to herself slightly. 

"You saw the wall back there, they weren't lying about that." The one with the chains rolled his shoulders casitng another intimidating sweep across the room.

"Probably just a weak wall." The woman shook her head. "Anyway, there's only twenty minutes before the match, get them three quickly so we can take our break."

The other nodded, before stepping forward to one of the apparent "sevens", letting the chains fall down as they moved in. The person they moved towards began to plead and beg, crawling away as they did so.

"Stop that!" The guard yelled, bringing his hands forward to attach the chain to the persons bonds around their wrists.

They began to fight back, bringing up their hands in a vain attempt to push the guard back. He responded by whipping the chains down, hard, and Equius had to turn away as he heard the yelps of pain from the other end of the cell. It wasn't a pretty thing to hear. He eventually managed to get the chains around te bonds of the sobbing person, and yanked them hard across the ground.

"Stand up!" He kicked out, his boot hitting into the side of the prisoner's rib as they gasped, desperately trying to get themselves up.

"Surely you can do better than that?" The woman laughed. "Bastards looks starved and you're struggling?"

"Shut it you." The chain guard snapped, before moving onto the next seven. 

Equius ignored the sounds of pain and brandished chains the best he could, as he looked over to his accomplice's corner. He could vaguely make out her, crouched low, feline eyes locked straight on the chain guard. At first Equius thought she wasn't aware of the gate guard watching her, sword gripped tight, before noting her positioning.

She was going to try and fight them off, and she had already taken the gate guard into account for the attacks she planned. Equius felt sweat break out on his forehead immediately as anxiety crept up. He couldn't risk her getting herself and possibily him killed, no matter the cost

Just after the second seven was dragged across the ground, and the chain guard began to move towards Nepeta, Equius spoke out.

"Think strategically." He ordered, staring at her as the two guards in the room turned to look at him, the gate guard still having his gaze focused on the girl in the corner.

"What's that?"

Equius ignored their questions, instead looking forward at Nepeta, seeing her eyes locked with his.

"In the long run, this is best."

He saw conflict fill her face, as she wrestled with the choice she had before her, which Equius knew wasn't an easy one. But she had to make the right choice, and he knew she was able to.

Eventually he saw her begin to relax, as the guards shook their heads and returned attention to her. She didn't move, almost at all, as the chains came forward and locked around her bonds. Equius let out a sight of relief, as they three were led out from the cell, the guard pulling hard on their chains. He watched them leave, laughing and joking amongst themselves.

Just before the door closed, the gate guard, sword still drawn, turned to Equius.

"You're next, boy."

Equius watched as the cell gate swung shut, the loud clang of metal reverberating throughout the small cell, followed by the clinking of keys into the lock, and the sealing of their prison.

He heard the chorus of footsteps at the six walked away, the heavy footfalls of boots almost drowning out the sound of the soft footfalls of the prisoners. He lowered his head and hoped to whatever gods lay out there that Nepeta would be safe, and would find the least painful resolution to her challenge possible. He hoped she could keep control of herself.

After a few seconds of silence, he looked inwards to the rest of the cell, seeing the others standing around in the weak light looking, as pitiful and pathetic as Equius believed one could be. Their heads betrayed how the darkness hid their frightful glances, and as the sounds from the corridor grew fainter, he could hear anxious, quickened breaths.

He felt something despairing grasp around inside him, as he stared at what must have been runts in the litters of captives, too weak or old to serve as proper working slaves. They were just sold off easy to entertain the crowds rather than be transported to the lawless lands, upon the border of which they were on.

"They expect you all to fight?" he asked, bitter, after a moment.

They all quickly looked towards him, stepping back, but they all refused to meet his hard gaze. None spoke for a few seconds, until one, an exceedingly old woman, finally broke the tense silence.

"Not to fight... to die, messily."

Equius looked at her for a few moments, unsure of how to respond. She began again before he could.

"The strongest of us was just sent out, no doubt to even up the rooms."

"The rooms?" The knight enquired.

"The arena has several rooms. We are in the blue room. Each room has a small number of prisoners, often put against each other. We generally function as teams, and when one of us dies, they bring in a new prisoner to fill up the space."

Equius thought for a second, noticing a flaw in her explanation.

"They just moved my partner into a fight against her team-mates, if that is the case."

"It's a culling match, even out the numbers. Two come in, two get put down. I have little doubt right after you were brought here they organised that match." She explained, her head tilting down slightly, as if burdened by the weight of her words. 

"Unfortunate, but an logical system." He said after a moment, and he caught the glare of one of the other prisoners that was cast in his direction.

"How logical is senseless slaughter?" He asked, his bound fists clenching.

"It earns." Equius answered simply. 

"At what cost?" He spat, stepping forward in anger.

"One that is rendered neglible in the face of profit."

"You justify this?" He looked like he was willing to swing for Equius at any moment. 

"I do not justify, I merely understand." 

"Yet you fail to condemn." The prisoner stared right into his eyes for a moment, but his facade didn't fool the knight. He could see the fear, filling the man. "Your bravery is admirable." He said after a moment.

"Screw my bravery." He snarled, before spitting at Equius' feet and quickly backing away, feet of the big man getting the better of him.

Equius watched him for a second, before turning back to the woman, who regarded him with a look Equius couldn't quite discern. Anything beyond the basic emotions was a challenge for him to understand at the best of times, but in the darkness it was especially difficult.

"Why would they take the strongest away, and leave only the weak?" He spoke after a moment, confused regarding the reasoning.

The woman waited a few more seconds before she answered. "My best guess is that they have a lot of faith in you. Either that or they want to make a spectacle out of the blue room. We haven't exactly been doing all that well recently."

"Don't they choose who gets allocated to what room?"

"Of course, but entertainment of this sort needs more than just the physical. It needs narratives, drama, attachment to favourites. The champion is a legendary figure of the ballad of our room wars." 

"And you believe a slaughter is due?"

"I do, as does... well, quite possibly "did" now..." She looked at the gate, her brows furrowing as her words faded away.

Equius interrupted the full silence that was about to follow. "And what of this champion?"

She looked up to him. "He had ascended above the rooms, through blood and slaughter. He gets his own chambers, and is granted the option to fight the entire arena guard for freedom, although he is a free man in many aspects. He has never been beaten."

Equius ran his tongue over his teeth before saying his next words. "And how long until I am placed against him in combat?"

"If you are as strong as the guards seems to think you are, I'd say about three or four, maybe more if they feel like drawing out your career, although the champion has not fought in a while, so they have incentive to shorten it." She turned away and began to walk into a corner where two other prisoners lay, welcoming her back with open arms.

"If you are not, then you'd be lucky to reach him within the year. Only the strongest fight him, and only every few weeks."

Turning away to stride into the middle of the room, Equius nodded, taking a deep breath. The fight for freedom was the one he needed win. Fight his way to the top, take down the champion, take on the guard. Then Nepeta could follow him. He clenched his fists as resolve filmed him. The path was in front of him, laid in slaughter, but laid clear. Going through the system was the only way. 

Freedom was his goal. Well, freedom and his horse.

"I'll get you back last, Arthour."

**Author's Note:**

> This is back on hiatus, since i've lost motivation once again, since this is gonna take several months to complete and i have stuff i wanna do more


End file.
